In cooperation with the University of Konstanz, POPP is a European Research Council (ERC) funded Proof of Concept project developing a training curriculum for mental health care tailored specifically to the needs of traumatized youth arriving in the EU who have experienced massive violence and often have a low threshold for aggression themselves.

Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers (UMA) who migrate from crisis areas to Europe typically experience a substantial number of harmful stressors, violence and traumatic life events before, during and after their flight. They often also have had to actively exert their own power and aggression in conflict situations. According to the personal accounts collected in our ERC MemoTV (Memories of Trauma and Violence) advanced grant (2013-18), male UMAs report having committed a median of four delinquent acts, which typically include hostile, injurious, or destructive behaviors.

MemoTV unprecedentedly developed innovative, effective solutions by adapting Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) to the needs of young survivors of trauma and violence, especially for those with a low threshold for aggression (forensic version: FOR-NET). Using the evidence from MemoTV, POPP will utilize FOR-NET with UMAs to provide a model to European systems for the use of state funds to continue the mental health support of migrant youth.