Mental health and psychosocial support in Calais: a reflection on research in a challenging environment

Abstract

This reflection focuses on research conducted in ‘The Jungle’ in Calais, an informal camp of approximately 6000 refugees (Help Refugees, 2016). My self-designed qualitative study aimed to assess the availability and nature of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) by interviewing service providers about their role in MHPSS. The research questioned whether MHPSS was evidence-based (Tol et al, 2011), what types of MHPSS was available, what service providers envisaged to be the most immediate needs, and barriers and enabling factors in MHPSS.