Migrants' Access to Mental Health Services in Italy: The Case of the Transcultural Psychiatric Operational Unit of Catania in Eastern Sicily.

Abstract

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.