TACC promotes a focus on mental health in the field of international cooperation

“Working with long-term refugee populations, such as the Sahrawi people in the Tindouf camps or the Palestinian community in Lebanon, we see that their needs go far beyond basic subsistence,” explains Ana Lorite, coordinator of the Sabadell Twinning with the Sahrawi People initiative at Taller d’Art, Cultura i Creació (TACC). “They often ask for spaces for community work, to maintain bonds and preserve their own culture to prevent it from fading, and above all, tools to cope with the mental health effects of living in contexts marked by uncertainty and permanent waiting,” she adds.

As Lorite points out, in prolonged situations of refuge and displacement, factors such as loss, frustration and precariousness strongly affect these populations. Still, mental health care has not traditionally been considered as much of a priority as access to basic needs such as water or electricity.

However, as these situations drag on, professionals and organisations increasingly agree that humanitarian responses must incorporate detection, care and support protocols that go beyond immediate medical assistance and also address mental health.

TACC’s role in breaking barriers around mental health

In the Tindouf camps (Algeria), where thousands of Sahrawi families have been living as refugees for nearly half a century, the emotional toll is evident. Material shortages and life in a harsh environment weigh heavily on people’s well-being. “The uncertainty of living in a state of permanent waiting deeply affects them,” says the TACC representative.

In this context, TACC —a Sabadell organisation with a long track record in socio-educational and cultural projects aimed at young people— has opted for a model of cooperation with the Sahrawi people that combines cultural exchange, training, and healthcare action. The Solidarity Camps it promotes in Tindouf bring young people from Sabadell to collaborate with local communities in artistic workshops, educational activities, and audiovisual projects. They also include a medical commission that facilitates the work of health professionals on the ground. This approach opens the door to addressing the psychosocial dimension of daily life in the camps.

In the case of Tindouf, the inclusion of mental health within the medical commissions has been gradual. Firstly, because of the taboo that still surrounds mental health issues among the population. Moreover, as Lorite explains, “we are talking about an under-resourced healthcare system that lacks professionals and that, for historical and cultural reasons, has prioritised physical health.”

Over time, the organisation has incorporated different professional profiles, such as psychologists and psychiatrists, who adapt to each case’s needs —from therapeutic support to medication management. They have also collaborated with a centre for children with autism to share tools and resources.

In the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, where the organisation works with people who have been living as refugees for eight decades, the context is different and more similar to our own conception of mental health. “There, we’ve been able to work mainly with art therapy and artistic workshops, so that children and young people can express their accumulated distress, which has worsened in recent years due to the Israeli offensive,” she says. The key to effective work, therefore, is to adapt to each context, work closely with local partners, and review the project each year to adjust it to emerging needs.

When it comes to mental health, stigma remains an obstacle. “If ten years ago hardly anyone here would admit they went to a psychologist, imagine in contexts where it’s not normal to tell a stranger that you have a mental health problem,” Lorite notes.

For this reason, TACC promotes information and awareness campaigns in the camps —similar to those focused on nutrition education, among others— to normalise psychological care and refer people to clinics when necessary. The organisation also works with school students to help foster a new perspective on mental health from an early age.

Conferences to rethink the relationship between cooperation and mental health

To share experiences, strengthen networks, and give visibility to this approach, TACC organises the annual ‘Mental Health and Cooperation’ conferences, in collaboration with Sabadell City Council and Parc Taulí Hospital. The event takes place each year to coincide with World Mental Health Day.

This year marked the third edition —held on 10 October at the Parc Taulí Auditorium in Sabadell—, with a packed programme featuring exchanges of good practices and a roundtable discussion on the psychological impact of climate displacement. “The warm reception has encouraged us to repeat the event every year, always with a subtheme that gives focus to the meeting,” says Lorite. Last year, the discussions centred on emotional well-being in the digital age, while this year’s focus was on the climate emergency and how displacement affects mental health.

According to Lorite, the choice of topic was no coincidence. “This year, the first climate refugees were officially recognised, in the island of Tuvalu, and Australia will start granting visas so they can leave islands that the sea is literally swallowing,” she explains. In fact, beyond this official recognition, it’s well known that climate change has long been forcing entire communities in the Global South to migrate —and more and more voices warn that such displacements will, before long, also affect Western societies.

To explore these issues in depth, the event featured, among others, Miguel Pajares —author of the book Climate Refugees— and Mercè Canangla, a psychologist and expert on the emotional consequences of the climate emergency. The Fons Català de Cooperació al Desenvolupament also shared its experience and lessons learned from a mental health project being carried out in Upala, Costa Rica.

As a new feature, the afternoon session included an activity specifically aimed at young people, organised in collaboration with the ‘Ocell de Foc Ecojove’ programme at Sabadell’s Espai Jove Can Rull. It was a workshop titled 'When Climate Breaks Borders', designed to bring the debate closer to teenagers and young adults —TACC’s natural audience. “We needed to reach younger people, and this format made it easier,” Lorite concludes.

For the organisation’s coordinator, addressing mental health challenges in the field of international cooperation can only be achieved through persistence and awareness-raising. “It’s a very cross-cutting task that takes time and patience, but always avoiding any sense of superiority; after all, mental suffering is something that affects all of us —whether here or there.”