Referral persons:
Mehmet Emin Gulmez called Bawer, cultural mediator
Cristina Tumiati, psychologist and psychotherapist
Maria Concetta Segneri, anthropologist
Adela Gutierrez, psychologist and cultural mediator
Dr. Gennaro Franco, dermatologist
Dr. Teresa D’Arca, internal medicine specialist
Dr. Lorenzo Nosotti, internal medicine specialist
Opening hours:
Monday and Wednesday from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm
Tuesday and Thursday from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
The service provides multidisciplinary information and assistance to international protection seekers, refugees and victims of torture. Through the integrated work of health professional with different competences, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, anthropologists and cultural mediators, the service provides qualified reception to the people, information on the social services, medical examinations, nursing assistance, diagnostic tests and psychological interviews. Moreover, people can be helped to prepare the documentation to be presented to the Commission who will evaluate the protection request, and to seek legal advice.
Particularly important for the reconstruction of the shaken personality of people who have suffered constraint, abuse, injustice, violence, is the tracking down of their history, although there usually is a strong resistance on their part to evoking painful memories. The team collaborates on the recollection work and, through the victims’ stories, supplies evidence about what happens in some countries and about the events forcing the population to resort to, or suffer, violence.
The person addressing the service is first received by a cultural mediator who has obtained a refugee status. In the interview he/she is informed about national and international regulations on asylum; asked about the reasons that led to the migration project; introduced to the medical, psychological, social and anthropological path provided by the NIHMP and to the other services available on the territory. A guide to the service (available in a number of languages) is provided to inform people on the approach and the activities of the service.
Cultural mediators involved in clinical settings are not mere “translators”; they ask, interpret, explain and codify words, symbols and signs of the culture and the society of the person.
The anthropologist participates in all the activities of the service with the objective of understanding the social and cultural background of the person, his/her traumatic experiences, the reason that led to migration and the routes taken to reach Italy. By collaborating with cultural mediators, the anthropologist makes use of ethnographic methods to collect information, interprets expressions, behaviours and feelings and provides the team with a comprehensive analysis of the person’s universe (ideas, values, historical and political background, past experiences, education, social relationships, etc.).
Doctors and psychologists thoroughly investigate the health status of the person.
The medical services provided are:
1. Internal medicine examination (general exam, laboratory and diagnostic tests, specialist examinations, treatment);
2. Dermatological examination.
Psychological activities include:
1. Fist interview with the person;
2. Analysis of general needs (legal, social, psychological and physical conditions) and planning of an intervention programme;
3. Psychodiagnostic assessment;
4. If the person applies for international protection, the team sets up a dossier containing the traumatic history of the person and psychodiagnostic certificates;
5. Clinical activities, to introduce the person to some relaxation techniques and to ethnopsychiatry-oriented integrated psychotherapeutic paths.
