SoulTalk

SoulTalk works because the same language is being spoken and the same experiences have been made. Our clients find it relieving and exculpatory to be able to have a discussion in their native language – and often feel better understood by us than by “German professionals”.

We work preemptively: Besides problems we also talk about individual strengths and strategies to handle the burdening situation at hand. In group discussions about stress management clients exchange their experiences and are relieved: “I’m not going mad, other people feel exactly the same.” Many refugees already benefit from this alone. In more serious cases we recommend the transfer into professional care in close collaboration with the head psychologists.

Our Team at Ambulenz für Seelische Gesundheit (Center for Metal Health) is on-site at two refugee camps. As of right now we are able to reach refugees through the languages Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, Somalian and English.

Help us provide psychological and social consultation for refugees from other countries!

The project is exactly what I needed when I first arrived in Germany. – Salah (social worker)

SoulTalk hits two birds with one stone: Our social workers are regularly employed by the hospital Saint Josef. At the same time, our clients receive not just medical but also psychological support after their escape – because both physical and mental health is essential.

Academic research proves time and time again that refugees have a higher risk of metal illnesses than others. Our work is important, since psychological and social support is usually almost non-existent in the arrival phase.

We fill this gap, at least here in Schweinfurt. But we also want this model project to be a solution for other refugees in Germany.

Because…

… Only somebody who is mentally stable, is able to integrate!
… Not just the body, but also the mind suffers from the memories of an escape
… Our prevention program of mental illness is effective in the long-term
… Psychological-social health programs need a professional setting and can´t be provided solely by non-trained volunteers
… At SoulTalk, well-integrated refugees help the local community and become role models for others.

This is how integration can work!

With 10.000€ (1st goal) we can employ translators, who work with our three schooled social workers to help refugees from other countries.
Our approach is based on direct communication in the native language.

With 25.000€ (2nd goal) we could train a French-speaking refugee as a social worker, who would be employed at Saint Josef Hospital. Through him/her we would be able to reach and help even more refugees, especially those coming from West Africa.

Above all, we want SoulTalk to exist beyond April 2019 and to be a pilot project for other refugee camps. Guidance and advice in the native languages of the refugees for refugees is needed in other places as well, not just in Schweinfurt!