Review: Unaccompanied refugee minors’ perception of mental health services and professionals: a systematic review of qualitative studies

BACKGROUND: Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) are a population at risk of mental health problems and a population with whom the therapeutic alliance can be difficult to set up. The therapeutic alliance's quality can impact the result and effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions. The aim of the present study was to gather URMs' points of view about mental health services and mental health professionals (MHP) in the host country. A summary of interviews conducted with URMs will allow a better understanding of their perception and expectations. METHODS: Seven databases were searched with English and French keywords. In the end, nine studies were selected. RESULTS: The review of the interviews shows that URMs do not have a clear perception of MHP - it seems difficult for them to trust MHP, but also to understand the value of sharing past painful experiences to reduce current symptoms. They can have a negative perception of mental health and consider that this is not a priority. URMs prefer to focus on day-to-day problems, do activity-based interventions and do group sessions to value social interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and methodological implications are discussed. The development of an instrument to evaluate therapeutic care for URMs could be interesting for future research and for clinicians.