Since its founding, VIA has considered mental health as one of the fundamental pillars of care for migrants, especially those experiencing migratory grief. In the past three years, and with an even sharper focus after the pandemic, the organization has been monitoring the variables that affect the mental health of migrants, managing to identify two key factors closely related to the legal and emotional challenges of the migration process.
The two key factors
In its ongoing mission to support migrants, VIA has identified two key findings that have redefined its comprehensive care strategy. Liliana Torella, Coordinator of the Peer Support Program at VIA, states that these discoveries have allowed the organization to revise its approach and expand its services to more effectively meet the needs of the migrant community.
The first finding reveals a strong correlation between the legal aspects of the migration process and the onset or worsening of mental health symptoms. “The stress of complying with legal procedures, the uncertainty about the outcome of migration processes, and the emotional impact inherent in each stage of the process can trigger or deepen psychological issues inmigrants. In response, VIA has been preparing audiovisual and awareness materials, both in-person and online, to encourage responsibility for both aspects: the legal and the emotional,” explains Liliana Torella.
The second finding is that this phenomenon affects all migrants but has a more severe impact on those whose migration is forced or traumatic, such as asylum seekers and refugees. Despite the increase in support requests from migrants of various nationalities, VIA has discovered a significant shortage of legal and mental health institutions that address these specific cases in the migrants’ native languages.
Torella emphasizes the importance of working together with other organizations to bring visibility to these issues, expand the scope of care, and create more effective and empathetic strategies. “VIA calls for collaboration between lawyers and psychologists, proposing a specialized service that integrates both aspects. Addressing general anxiety is not the same as addressing the anxiety caused by an asylum interview, which can revive trauma. This requires specific professional handling to achieve better outcomes,” Torella notes.
“With these advances, VIA reaffirms its commitment to providing comprehensive and effective support to the migrant community, working for their well-being both legally and emotionally,” adds Torella.