Abstract Book - International Academy of Law and Mental Health

esponsibility. As an independent agent, iMMO has managed to transfer the expertise of thefounding non-governmental organizations, and participates in the (inter)national discourse onasylum. In addition, the institute has been able to achieve a working relationship with theimmigration authorities.The Asylum Procedure as Risk Factor for Psychiatric ProblemsKees Laban, De Evenaar Centre for Transcultural Psychiatry, Beilen, The Netherlands(kees.laban@ggzdrenthe.nl)Problems of asylum seekers are multiple and complex. Having experienced the adversities thatput them at flight, in the host country they face usually long asylum procedures and a multitudeof post-migration living problems. Literature shows high prevalence rates of mental disordersand low quality of life. The length of procedure is an even more important risk factor forpsychopathology than the adverse life events in the country of origin. Both qualitative andquantitative research has shown the relevant types of post-migration living problems, such asuncertainty about the future, the fear to be sent home, missing one’s family, and lack of work. Inorder to improve the mental health status of this very vulnerable group, the government shouldreconsider their policies regarding the length of the asylum procedure, living conditions in theasylum seeking centres, work, and family reunification, and should facilitate support byvoluntary agencies. Mental health workers should realize the importance of the asylumprocedure and the often related post-migration living problems and consider to focus theirtreatment on coping with these problems instead of only focusing on traumas from the past. Aresilience-oriented approach is recommended.New Facts and Circumstances in Asylum Law in the NetherlandsGerda Later, Barrister, The Hague, The Netherlands (gerdalater@gmail.com)Asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands, relieved to have escaped their problems, will enterthe asylum procedure and meet different individuals. Although now some medical examinationsmay be involved in order to discover whether an asylum seeker is capable of being interviewed,many problems may need to be addressed. An asylum seeker may be psychotic, but this may alsonot be recognised. Psychosis influences the memory and the capability to tell a complete story. Ifthe whole story is not told, in the next procedure it will not be identified, because it was knownbefore and should have been recounted in the first procedure. Subsequently, it may become clearthat an asylum seeker suffers from mental retardation, which influences his or her capability totell a clear story about what happened in the country of origin. These factors should be taken intoconsideration in the following procedure, and the former decision should be reconsidered.However, cases show that it is nearly impossible to have such reconsideration.28