YCSA is delighted to announce that we have been awarded £61,672 through the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project to support the mental health and wellbeing of young asylum seekers and refugees. The Addressing Mental Health project will increase specialised trauma informed support for refugees and asylum seekers aged 10 – 25, addressing their mental health and wellbeing needs which impact on their daily lives, and act as a barrier to being fully able to take up opportunities and integrate into wider society.
To our knowledge there has been relatively little use of Art Therapy in a youth friendly, non-clinical setting in Scotland as a tool for tackling mental health and trauma among young refugees. Our project will therefore pilot an approach through art psychotherapy, aimed at meeting gaps in current provision, and testing out the benefits of this tool for working with refugees on mental health and trauma.
In addition to individual support, the project will provide group mental health sessions, based on the interests of the participants. This will sustain mental health by teaching self-help techniques in a social context. These could include relaxation techniques such as mindfulness, yoga, and outdoor activity.
The project is funded until November 2022.
This project is part funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. Making management of migration flows more efficient across the European Union