Session 1: Setting the scene – raising awareness concerning linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

Barbara Schouten is Associate Professor in Intercultural Health Communication and Principal Investigator at the Center for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the role of language and culture-related factors in provider-patient communication with less well represented populations, as well as how to develop digital interventions to enhance access, processes and outcomes of intercultural health communication. She has received ample funding from both national and international organizations, is Associate Editor of European Journal of Health Communication and Diversity Officer of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam.

Session 3: Roundtable discussion – How can the (mental) health care system be stimulated to better integrate refugees and migrants?

Julie Vanderkelen is the MHPSS Coordinator within the medical unit at Fedasil (FHQ), with over 20 years of experience in the field of migration. She began her career working with unaccompanied minors and now supervises several projects related to the mental health of international protection applicants. Her responsibilities include technical support, development, and implementation of the vision and operational approach to the Health of these applicants. Her key focus areas include mental health, gender-based violence, and addiction. Additionally, she collaborates with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) to co-develop guidelines for field personnel

Session 4: Final reflections and closing remarks

Navigating Diversity in Mental Health: Reflections from Practice, Research, and Education

Winny Ang, MD, is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with an MSc in Cultural Psychiatry. She works at 't_verhaal, a mental health consultation service, and at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, where she serves as a communication trainer, lecturer and PhD student specializing in diversity in medical education.

Photo by Michiel Devijver.

Session 2: Exploring possible solutions for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

A leap into the future with Mind-Spring

Maryam Tawfiq Marwan works for CAW East Flanders as project manager for the Mind-Spring program. Her tasks are making Mind-Spring better known in the East of Flanders, she takes care of the further organization of groups and gives training to the trainers and co-supervisors in Belgium. In her spare time, she likes painting!

Session 3: Roundtable discussion – How can the (mental) health care system be stimulated to better integrate refugees and migrants?

Angélique Petrits has been working for the European Commission for over 30 years. She has a degree in French from the University of Thessaloniki and a Ph.D in linguistics from the University of Paris-Diderot. She has been involved in projects involving languages, translation, education, communication and culture and has worked in Luxembourg, Brussels, Budapest and London. In 2017, she joined the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs where she has been involved in policy issues aiming at the integration of migrants in the EU. Since 2021, she is the co-coordinator of the Urban Agenda Partnership for the Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees together with the City of Amsterdam.

Session 3: Roundtable discussion – How can the (mental) health care system be stimulated to better integrate refugees and migrants?

Simone Goosen (PhD) leads the development of a national guideline for professionals and patients on dealing with language barriers in health and social care in the Netherlands. She is the initiator and leader of the campaigns “Interpreters back into healthcare, please” and “This is a child, not an interpreter”. Her enormous drive for appropriate policies and practices regarding language barriers is a consequence of her work as an epidemiologist and policy advisor in the field of refugee and migrant health and her strong sense of justice.

Session 3: Roundtable discussion – How can the (mental) health care system be stimulated to better integrate refugees and migrants?

Remco Ruiter is a conference interpreter at the Directorate-General for Interpretation (DG SCIC) of the European Commission. As a policy desk officer, he monitors developments in Public Service Interpreting across the EU, with a focus on migration. He contributes to the content management of the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Interpretation and is the convenor of ISO/TC 37/SC 5/WG 4 - Interpreting and Translation Teaching and Training Programs.

Session 2: Exploring possible solutions for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

Born on October 1, 1961 and son of an immigrant worker, Mehmet Uygun has been living in the Netherlands since September 12, 1978. Since 1990, he has been working in the Health and Welfare sector as a community worker, neighborhood participation coordinator, district advisor, and social worker in various municipalities. Alongside his work, Mr. Uygun was also politically active as a councilor in the 1990s and later as a member of the provincial council. In 2002, after his son fell ill, he became involved in patient advocacy. In 2007, together with his ill son and several other patients, he founded the Foundation for Migrants and Cancer (SAK). After the death of his son in 2009, he continued helping migrant patients and their families. 

In 2010, SAK became the Migrant Health Foundation Netherlands (SGAN). Since then, SGAN has been active locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Mr. Uygun is member of various boards, including advisory and client councils of several local and national healthcare institutions. Additionally, he regularly gives guest lectures and provides courses on topics such as palliative care, communication, diversity, and rituals at universities, colleges, and many hospitals. 

Made into an expert by experience, he is happy to share his knowledge in the interest of patients and their families. 

Session 2: Exploring possible solutions for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

Empatia Program: Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Support for Displaced Ukrainians  

Daria Delawar is the Communication Manager for the Empatia Program, where she fosters connections between displaced Ukrainians and mental health professionals. As a displaced person herself, having moved to Amsterdam in September 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, Daria uses her expertise to mediate culturally sensitive knowledge and promote mental health support. She holds a Master’s degree in Media Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a Master’s degree in Culture and Politics from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.  

Session 2: Exploring possible solutions for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

Therapist-interpreter collaboration for the benefit of the patient  

Anne Delizée is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Translation and Interpretation at the University of Mons (Belgium), where she is Head of the Dialogue Interpreting Curricula and of the Post-Soviet Space and Slavic Countries Unit. She has a Master’s degree in Translation and in Slavic philology, and holds a PhD on mental health interpreting. Her main research interests focus on cognitive processes, interpersonal aspects, and the interpreter’s agency in Dialogue Interpreting, particularly in mental health settings. She is also an active dialogue interpreter in French-Russian and works with stakeholders in the field to improve the professionalisation of Public Service Interpreters in French-speaking Belgium.  

Session 2: Exploring possible solutions for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

Integration of qualified interpreters in outpatient (mental) health care services – Germany’s first model project 

Professor of Clinical Psychology at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences and Head of the Psychosocial Migration Research Group at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (www.uke.de/agpm). His research focusses on migration and (mental) health, intercultural openness and multilingualism in healthcare. He is founder of the “Interdisciplinary research network on multilingualism in health care” (www.irmh.net). He is also a Psychological Psychotherapist and a Supervisor. Honorary he is chairman of a non-profit organisation providing mental health services for refugees and migrants (www.segemi.org) and elected expert for the health sector of the Integration Advisory Council of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.  

Session 2: Exploring possible solutions for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

MentalHealth4All: Demonstrating a multilingual platform for migrants and (mental) healthcare providers across Europe

Dr. Liza van Lent is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in health communication at the University of Amsterdam. She also serves as the project manager of the international MentalHealth4All initiative. Her PhD research explored doctor-patient interactions and shared decision-making in the context of early phase clinical cancer trials. As a postdoc, she contributed to the development of a Dutch national guideline to mitigate language barriers in health and social care, and she led the evaluation of the MentalHealth4All platform. Her research interests include (mental) health, intercultural communication, mixed-method research, online interventions, shared decision-making, and vulnerable populations.  

Session 1: Setting the scene – raising awareness concerning linguistic and cultural diversity in mental healthcare

Alaa Mahdi Kudaih is a psychologist, photographer, and writer. She writes for We Are Not Numbers, sharing the stories of martyred Gazans and highlighting the deep mental and emotional toll of war on her community. Originally from Gaza, Alaa now lives in Belgium as a refugee. She raises awareness about mental health in Turkish, English, and Arabic and founded "Dmma Therapy." Her personal experience of displacement and her family’s ongoing struggles in Gaza deeply inform her commitment to both storytelling and psychological support.