Psychological wellbeing of refugees and asylum seekers in Serbia

Abstract

Psychological screening shows that 79% of refugees should be treated as vulnerable in regards to their mental health, i.e. are in need for psychological assistance and support. They are faced with different daily challenges including language barriers, unresolved legal status, not having a work permit, limited access to social and medical services, etc. still, many of them demonstrate high resilience and strong coping capacities. in order to preserve their mental health and overcome daily challenges refugees need to rely on different pillars of support, which need to be further strengthen and developed. In order to improve the asylum procedure in Serbia it is important to learn from refugees’ experience and take their inputs as guidance – therefore the second part of this publication highlights some of the key challenges in the asylum procedure, provides testimonies and presents several examples of good practice. Finally, we discuss integration challenges and possible solutions for refugees based on the experiences of those who are in the process of rebuilding their life in Serbia.