Bugárová Tímea: Influence of Ukrainian Refugees' Mental Health on their Success of Integration on Labour Market in Slovakia
2024/14
The viewpoint of mental health, in regard to the refugees who suffer from various levels and types of trauma and other threats to their mental and physical health, is crucial for the success of the integration strategy as a whole. Displacement puts significant psychological and social stress on individuals, families and communities. People may have experienced multiple atrocities and adversities prior to or during their escape. Once they reach safety, their current living conditions may also impose significant stress and hardship, often coupled with worries about those left behind and concerns about the future. This leads to increased levels of mental health conditions and psychosocial problems. Interventions from mental health professionals are designed to be culturally sensitive and tailored to the unique needs of refugees, considering their experiences of displacement, trauma, and cultural adjustment. Elimination of stigma and self-stigmatization of people with mental disorders, noticing and being aware of them, about their symptoms and options they have, determines the success of further treatment and increases the likelihood of effective integration. In everyday life, it is important for refugees from Ukraine to integrate into the community in the field of mental health. Thanks to psychologists’ extensive competences in the field of identification of psychological needs, as well as support of Ukrainian refugees, there is a possibility to use counseling, clinical and psychotherapeutic procedures to meet them. The need for material and financial security of families often leads to the implementation of less qualified work and the acceptance of work and salary discrimination. Skilled refugees’ demotivation and the feeling of helplessness both lead to a passive or avoidant attitude. The earlier mentioned group of people could, otherwise, enter the labour market effectively.