A cross-sectional survey of 629 health and social care providers across nine European countries reveals systematic communication barriers preventing migrant populations from accessing adequate mental healthcare. Healthcare professionals consistently report that language barriers render mental health services largely inaccessible to migrant patients, with communication difficulties occurring throughout the entire care continuum from initial assessment to ongoing treatment.
This finding exposes a critical gap in healthcare equity that extends beyond simple translation needs. Mental health treatment relies heavily on nuanced communication about emotions, trauma, and cultural context—areas where language barriers become particularly problematic. The reliance on informal strategies like family interpretation raises concerns about confidentiality, accuracy, and potential retraumatization, especially given that many migrants may be fleeing circumstances involving family conflict or trauma. The survey's identification of regional differences in both migrant encounters and communication challenges suggests that some European healthcare systems are better equipped than others to serve diverse populations. This disparity likely reflects broader policy differences in integration support and healthcare funding. For the estimated one billion people globally with mental health disorders, these findings underscore how linguistic barriers compound existing mental health challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations who may already face trauma, displacement, and social isolation.
