Factors that influence mental health in migrants: a case report

This case report deals with a 30-year-old Brazilian woman who became anxious and depressed after her migration to Italy and two years of living there. At psychiatric assessment, she presented with mood deflection, difficulties in sleeping, sadness, anxiety and many somatic symptoms that began after her arrival in Italy and progressively worsened, eventually requiring psychiatric intervention.Today an increased number of mental disorders and somatisation symptoms tend to be observed among migrants, which are often related to stressful pre-migratory life events and Post-Migration Living Difficulties (PMLD). Management of these kinds of patients should be part of a program for Transcultural Psychiatry that integrates both medical treatment (pharmacological and nonpharmacological) and addresses cultural differences to improve individual conditions of the patients.