The Konstanz model project for refugees with mental disorders.?Coordinated psychotherapeutic treatment involving trained peer support (KOBEG)

Refugees with mental disorders are confronted with access barriers to the psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care system. In order to counter these barriers, a model project to support the health care and integration of mentally distressed refugees was established in the district of Konstanz (coordinated psychotherapeutic treatment involving trained peer support; KOBEG) and evaluated in an initial 3-year model phase. A coordination center refers the patients to local certified psychotherapists. Language and culturally sensitive trained mentors (peers) support and accompany the refugees during the therapy. The utilization of the refered therapy and the experiences of the participating therapists serve as indicators for the effectiveness of the peer-supported therapy referral. The effectiveness of therapeutic measures and support by trained peers was evaluated on the basis of the psychological symptom burden (symptom checklist 27) and functional impairment (work and social adjustment scale) before and after an average of 10 months of project participation. The study focuses on the refugees (use of services and mental distress) and the psychotherapists (reported experiences). Initial results showed an above-average stress level among the refugees at the time of the initial interview, a high participation rate and a low drop-out rate. The follow-up survey showed significant improvements in terms of psychological symptom burden as well as functional impairments. The (qualitative) survey among psychotherapists underlines the effectiveness of KOBEG, 93% of the therapists intend to continue working with refugees within the framework of the project.