Migrant Minds is an initiative dedicated to deepening our understanding of migration psychology and the mental processes migrants experience during their journey. The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ program. Its first edition ran from May 2022 to July 2023 with the participation of three organizations from Spain, Italy, and Germany.
This project emerged in response to two contrasting realities:
- There is a growing migrant population in need of mental health professionals who can address their unique experiences.
- At the same time, migration psychology remains an underexplored field, with too few professionals in both the public and private sectors to meet this demand.
Migrant Minds developed and delivered training in migration psychology to psychologists and other professionals working closely with migrants. The goal: to help them better understand the complexity of the migration process and respond more effectively to migrants’ needs.
The project has been highly collaborative, bringing together psychologists specializing in migration, migrants themselves, social workers, and three organizations offering complementary expertise.
Three organizations, three different perspectives
Migrant Minds (Originally Mentes Migrantes) was developed by three partner organizations:
- Volvemos (Spain): A private organization supporting the return of Spanish emigrants by developing public return programs and providing services to the Spanish diaspora, including psychological support, career guidance, entrepreneurship advice, and administrative assistance.
- SDI University of Munich (Germany): A private university specializing in intercultural communication, with a strong international profile welcoming students from around the world.
- Babele Onlus (Italy): A non-profit association supporting the reception and integration of foreign families, particularly helping minors integrate into school and building service networks to foster sociocultural inclusion.
The alliance of the three entities has enriched the project in two key aspects:
- Diverse expertise: Combining the academic rigor of SDI with the practical migration experience of Volvemos and Babele allowed us to design training that is both research-based and rooted in real-world challenges. The combination of different entities (private, educational, and non-profit) has also favored the enrichment of the project, while also empowering each entity by learning about new ways of organizing and working.
- Broader perspectives: When we initially proposed the project, as Volvemos was the leading entity, our approach to migration was based on the audience this organization works with. However, thanks to the participation of SDI and Babele, we have been able to broaden the concept of migration and organize training programs that have taken into account different realities: in Spain, we conducted training for psychologists who work with emigrants and returnees; in Italy, it was aimed to integration-focused social workers; and in Germany, we focused on training professionals who work with international students. This diversity enriched the content and allowed us to create training tailored to multiple realities.
What we have done so far
1. Research into the existing literature related to the psychology of migration and the experience of professionals in this discipline
At the beginning of our work, we researched the existing literature and gained firsthand knowledge of the experience of psychologists specializing in the field of migration. Then, we held a group work session in which we outlined the starting point of our journey and established the foundations for what the training would be like.
2. Created a training program based on the research results
With this research, we were able to develop documentation that included the issues to be considered when delivering the training. The topics to be covered were identified and developed, and a training structure was established, including work dynamics with the students. This material was developed by one of the psychologists participating in the research phase. Finally, we created the training program itself. Each entity, taking into account its target audience, adapted its training program based on the common theoretical content and structure defined in previous phases.
A continuación creamos la formación per se. Cada una de las entidades, teniendo en cuenta el público al que se dirigía, adaptó su formación a partir del contenido teórico común y la estructura definida en fases anteriores.
3. In-Person Training in Spain, Italy, and Germany (April - May 2023)
Then it was time to deliver the training. We opened a registration process in each country and organized the course. We organized short, intensive courses for psychologists, social workers, and education professionals. Sessions focused on practical methods and included individual and group activities, earning an overall satisfaction rating of 9.16/10.
Follow-up online group sessions were held in each country to discuss cases and produce “Decalogues on Migration Psychology” in Spanish, German, and Italian - resources now available for other professionals:
These decalogues were developed by the students themselves based on the training materials received and can be used by other professionals interested in this area of psychology or people who work with migrants on a daily basis.
4. Workshops with different migrant groups in Italy, Spain, and Germany (June 2023)
In addition to the training, we held workshops in each country with the main beneficiaries of the training, the migrants themselves. The workshops were held for different kinds of immigrants. In Italy, for instance, the workshop was aimed at immigrant families; in Germany, it included the participation of students from other countries; and in Spain, it brought together people who returned after a migration experience.
During these workshops, we explained what we had done during the training and what content we had covered to understand their perspective. These sessions enriched our understanding of how migration impacts their mental health.
5. Event to present the results of the first edition (July 2023)
Continuing with this open spirit of the project, the last action taken was a results presentation event held on July 7 in Madrid. At this event, we were able to present the project and each of the actions carried out with participants from the three organizations.
6. Creation of a 100% online course to serve students from all over the world
After conducting in-person training in Spain, Germany, and Italy in 2023, many of you expressed interest in participating in our training. Some of you told us that in-person attendance was a challenge since you were located in different parts of the world and couldn't attend classes in person. For this reason, we have adapted the content to a 100% online format, so that anyone can participate regardless of their location or availability.
All the details of the online edition of the course can be found here.
Next steps for Mentes Migrantes
Mentes Migrantes aims to continue advancing the study of the psychology of migration. Our upcoming goals include:
- New project edition: We have submitted a proposal to the European Commission to expand the program’s content and audience, working on a new edition of the training course.
- Future in-person training: We aim to organize new sessions in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and Santiago de Chile, just like we did in Pavia, Munich and Madrid (April and May 2023). If you are interested in participating in any of these editions, please contact us using the contact form on this page contact form on this page.
- Corporate training: We’re planning to offer programs to companies employing professionals from different countries to facilitate their workplace wellbeing and cultural integration.
- Support for migrant service organizations: We also intend to offer the course to institutions working directly with migrants to improve understanding of their clients and thus, service delivery.
- New partnerships: We plan to bring more organizations into the consortium, extending training to additional countries, languages, and migration contexts.
Any updates will be announced on this website as well as on the usual communication channels of the three entities promoting the project. If you want to stay up to date, we suggest following Volvemos on LinkedIn.