Peer-reviewed article
Peer Counseling in a Community Based Intervention for Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth
Qureshi A, Morales N, Collazos F ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study describes a community-based intervention in Spain that trains unaccompanied migrant youth as peer counselors to support other youth in their situation. The youth selected for training have shown good cultural adaptation and receive education in cultural competence, mental health care, and substance abuse. The project aims to create a bridge between formal services and vulnerable migrant youth populations. The intervention recognises that existing residential and mental health services in Spain are not adequately adapted to the complex needs of unaccompanied migrant youth.
Key points
- Unaccompanied migrant youth face multiple challenges including adolescent development in a new culture, family separation, and discrimination
- Many have experienced trauma before, during, and after migration
- Existing residential, care, and mental health services in Spain are not adapted to their specific needs
- Community health agents can serve as effective bridges between institutions and marginalised populations
- The intervention trains culturally-adapted unaccompanied youth as peer counselors in mental health and substance abuse issues
Limitations
This is a presentation describing an ongoing project, not a completed evaluation with results. The document provides no outcome data, so it cannot tell us whether the peer counseling intervention actually improves outcomes for unaccompanied migrant youth.
Abstract
Abstract Body Uaccompanied migrant youth represent an at-risk population given the complexity of negotiating adolescence in a new culture, isolated from family and friends, without a secure base and subject to discrimination. In addition, many unaccompanied migrant youth have been subject to considerable trauma prior to, during, and post migration. In Spain, as in many countries, the residential, care, and mental health services are not adapted to the specific and complex needs of this population, and to that end complex not only are the youth not well served but providers are increasingly frustrated. The figure of the community health agent has been widely recognized as one that can function as an effective bridge between systems/institutions and marginalized and vulnerable populations. In this presentation we will describe an ongoing project that trains unaccompanied migrant youth who show promise in their cultural adaptation in the areas of cultural competence, mental health care and substance abuse to function as community health agents (or peer counselors) consistent with models of cultural consultation. Disclosure No significant relationships.