In Paris, a psychiatric center to “relieve” migrants

She repeats herself so that we believe her. In tears, this Sri Lankan woman is afraid of forgetting the face of her 10-year-old son, who stayed behind. "I forget everything I do. Why does this happen to me?" the forty-year-old asks in English, showing her wrist covered in sticky notes. The nurse, who follows her and reassures her, slips away to look for a colleague. Psychiatrist Maria Vittoria Carlin listens in turn to the patient – who arrived in France in 2024 and who fears being expelled – then grabs her hand: “Your brain is too stressed, it can’t take it anymore.”

The scene takes place in the Psychiatric and Social Support Consultation Unit (Capsys), launched in March 2021, of the Paris University Hospital Group for Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Located in a discreet building in the ^1st arrondissement, this service is exclusively dedicated to the mental health of migrants in precarious situations in the Île-de-France region, whether they are asylum seekers, refugees, or undocumented immigrants.

Three psychiatrists, a psychologist, and a nurse, all accompanied by interpreters if necessary, receive there – with or without an appointment – from Monday to Friday (except Wednesday), around thirty exiles, most often from Afghanistan, but also from Guinea, Sudan, and even Ukraine. Listening to them, understanding their torments, and caring for them: such is the mission of this facility. from the public sector Funded by the Ile-de-France regional health agency. There's no Vitale card required, and access is free. Le Monde attended several consultations.

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