Exchange with the members of the Bundestag Dr. Kirsten Kappert-Gonther and Susanne Menge (both B'90/Greens) at our partner clinic

On Tuesday, representatives of NTFN eV met with members of the Bundestag Dr. Kirsten Kappert-Gonther and Susanne Menge (both B'90/Greens).

Dr. Kappert-Gonther is the current chair of the health committee. As a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, with a doctorate in trauma-related disorders, she was very well informed about the problems faced by mentally ill refugees – and clearly impressed by our work. We also received a great deal of support from Menge, who had already visited our Oldenburg Psychosocial Center last year.

We visited the Karl Jaspers Clinic in Bad Zwischenahn, with whom we are jointly implementing the "refuKey" cooperation project. The project aims to expand and integrate psychiatric and psychotherapeutic-psychosocial care for refugees. Staff members work both in the clinic and at the Psychosocial Center (PSZ), enabling targeted and appropriate referral of patients to the various care pathways.

During the very constructive and professional exchange, we focused in particular on the lack of legal regulations regarding the reimbursement of language interpretation costs, which are stipulated in the coalition agreement. We also addressed the negative consequences of the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act, which, since the recent tightening of regulations, is now valid for 36 months instead of 18 months after entry for refugees.