refugees and migrants potentially traumatic
events from the past are not the only, or even
the most important, source of psychological
distress. Most emotional suffering is directly
related to current stresses they are exposed to
upon arrival and worries and uncertainty about
the future 13 .
How can this be achieved? 14
• By implementing practices that recognize and
strengthen the skills and self-confidence of
children and families to help them deal with
persistently stressful conditions (such as a
lack of education opportunities or negative
interactions with people in the communities
in which they live) that are caused or
exacerbated by displacement, anti-migrant
sentiment and/or discrimination. These
include life skills such as the ability to manage
emotions and conflicts, having a positive self-
image, exercising effective problem-solving
and critical thinking skills. SOS Children’s
Villages, Albero della Vita in Italy and IDCI
and Stichting De Vrolijkheid’s Happy Nest
programme in The Netherlands provide some
examples of this approach.
• By ensuring access to socio-educational and
recreational services.
• By ensuring the swift identification of
children who are not coping well and
offer further focused and individualised
psychosocial support as well as access to
socio-educational and recreational services 15 .
6. ENSURE CARE PROFESSIONALS ARE ADEQUATELY TRAINED
AND SUPPORTED
Adequately trained staff is key to implementing
an integrated child protection response
to protect refugee and migrant children 16 .
Frontline staff should also be able to identify
and assess child protection risks, while also
respecting and promoting the rights of the
child. To achieve this, Procedural Safeguards
(legal rights and protection) should be in place
13 _ “Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants on the Move in Europe: A Multi-agency Guidance Note”,
UNHCR, IOM and MHPSS.net, December 2015,
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/mental-health-and-psychosocial-support-refugees-asylum-seekers-and-migrants-move-europe.
14 _ See also the good practice principles developed by UNHCR, IOM and MHPSS.net, 2015, to prevent inadvertently doing harm and to guide the
psychosocial support response for migrants and refugees in Europe, including children travelling alone and with their families.
15 _ In their guidance on treatment for people with severe mental disorders, UNHCR, IOM and MHPSS.net note that treatment can only be
provided by certified clinicians, and in accordance with national regulations, and recommend organisations to refer people with severe mental
disorders to appropriate secondary services, UNHCR, IOM and MHPSS.net, 2015.
16 _ A study by the European Migration Network on unaccompanied children shows that only some Member States require the staff working with
unaccompanied children reception facilities to hold a degree in a relevant field (i.e. being graduated social workers, educators). This is the
case in Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, France, Italy, Slovak Republic, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, and
for certain positions in Finland. Other (Member) States do not require any specific qualification but provide ongoing training to their staff
(Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia). In Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Ireland and the Netherlands, the staff receives training in addition
to their qualification to deal with unaccompanied children or with asylum seekers in general (e.g. Slovak Republic). In Austria, the basic welfare
support legislation does not foresee any minimum qualification or experience requirements for supervisors of unaccompanied children, and
in Cyprus, residential care officers are not provided with any specific training in accommodating the needs of unaccompanied children. See
“Synthesis Report for the EMN Focussed Study 2014 Policies, Practices and Data on Unaccompanied Minors in the EU Member States and
Norway”, European Migration Network, May 2015,
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/emn_study_2014_uams_0.pdf.
Furthermore, a report by Missing Children Europe identified the need to step up efforts to develop and deliver training programmes to
frontline workers on the disappearance and protection of unaccompanied children. Most reception centre operators, guardians and social
services with experience in working with unaccompanied children who participated in a survey in seven European countries (Belgium, Cyprus,