Migrants’ Access to Mental Health Services in Italy

The Case of the Transcultural Psychiatric Operational Unit of Catania in Eastern Sicily

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6013513
AutoresIrene Maffi (0000-0002-1489-2623, University of Lausanne, autor correspondente), Simona Carotenuto, Aldo Virgilio
Ano2025
Volume49
Fascículo4
Páginas1481-1503
Data de publicação2025-11-08
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCulture Medicine and Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0165-005X • E-ISSN: 1573-076X
EditoraSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11013-025-09950-3
PMID41206391
OpenAlexW4416042213
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas17

This article, based on a collaboration between an ethnopsychiatrist, a psychologist and an anthropologist at the Transcultural Psychiatric Operational Unit (TPOU) in Catania, Sicily, examines how a culturally sensitive approach can support migrants suffering from trauma, depression and other psychological or psychiatric disorders in their recovery and adaptation to the host society. First, we analyse the structure of Italy’s migrant reception system and the specific characteristics of the public healthcare framework in Sicily. Next, we trace the history of the TPOU, detailing patient profiles and the facility’s philosophy of care since its inception. In the second part, through an exploration of five individuals’ therapeutic journeys, we illustrate how access to ethnopsychiatric services has facilitated their recovery and sociocultural integration. Finally, we underscore the disparities in access to treatment opportunities and psychosocial distress prevention programmes in Sicily, highlighting the absence of public facilities capable of providing culturally competent responses to migrants’ social suffering