5 hospitals to set up centre on refugees’ mental health

Regional centres of expertise are being set up in five university hospitals that will promote the mental health of refugees, said a press release issued by the National Institute for Health and Welfare’s (THL).

The regional centres of expertise form a national centre will cover the whole of Finland.

“Professionals in different fields need support and information on how to promote the mental health of immigrants from refugee backgrounds, so there is a need for centres of expertise,” said THL's Project Manager Johanna Mäki-Opas.

The aim of the centres of expertise is to disseminate knowledge of how to promote the mental health of refugees in their area. This can be done by providing advice, training, developing services, and creating effective regional networks to improve work efficiency. With help from one of these centres, every professional can support the mental health of a refugee client. The goal is for cross-sectoral cooperation that facilitates, streamlines and enables the support of refugees' mental health in different areas and services.

The task of setting up the centres of expertise is implemented in cooperation with THL’s National support system for refugee mental health work and the know-how dissemination project (PALOMA2), the five university hospitals and the Finnish Association for Mental Health.