ESCAP has taken a clear position in the refugee crisis, standing up for the mental health and well being of refugee children, adolescents and their families. The ESCAP Board and its project ESCAP for mental health of child and adolescent refugees are presenting a call for all governments involved, including a list of fifteen issues that should be resolved to protect young refugee immigrants in Europe.
The extensive ESCAP position statement also determines the implications of the refugee crisis for child and adolescent refugees and the urgent need to protect their (mental) health. Project coordinator, professor Dimitris Anagnostopoulos, will engage all 33 ESCAP members, the national organizations for child and adolescent psychiatry, to defend the mental health of young refugees and present the position statement to their governments.
Special ECAP issue
Meanwhile, a special issue is being prepared of the official ESCAP journal, European Child + Adolescent Psychiatry (ECAP) on epidemiological, diagnostic, treatment and prevention aspects of mental health problems in child and adolescent refugees. The journal is now calling for papers for this issue. Potential authors/investigators are requested to contact one of the guest-editors, all representatives of the ESCAP young refugee initiative:
Dimitris Anagnostopoulos, Athens
Matthew Hodes, London
Norbert Skokauskas, Trondheim
This ECAP special issue follows up a first assessment of the needs of young refugees arriving in Europe, published in Januart 2016, titled What mental health professionals need to know.
