With the rising number of refugees and immigrants globally, these populations' unique and pressing needs necessitate responsible actions by authorities. Refugees often face unmet physical and psychological needs, placing them at higher risk of engaging in substance use and criminal activities. To address such vulnerabilities, the Council of Europe adopted the Recommendation on Probation [Rec(2011)13], emphasizing the removal of barriers to health service accessibility for migrants. Yet, probation professionals continue to encounter significant challenges -particularly language barriers- hindering effective stress management support for refugee probationers.


Virtual reality (VR) has recently emerged as a therapeutic tool for psychological disorders and skill training, including emotion regulation, problem-solving, and communication. Building on this potential, the international project was developed through collaboration between Türkiye, Portugal, Romania, and Germany, and supported by the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Programme. The project leverages VR to provide specialized, safe, and culturally sensitive training to refugee probationers, focusing not only on reducing substance use but also on strengthening coping skills such as stress management, decision-making, and moral reasoning. Four VR scenarios have been designed for this purpose.


An initial pilot study with fifteen substance-using refugee offenders in Türkiye and Portugal, demonstrated the feasibility of VR-based interventions within probation settings. Currently, a follow-up phase is underway at the Probation Directorate, collecting additional data to evaluate the longer-term impact of VR-based training. This phase allows assessment of sustained changes in coping skills, substance use behavior, and reoffending risk among refugee probationers.


Preliminary findings from the pilot implementation and ongoing follow-up indicate that VR-based training can enhance coping skills, support stress management, and potentially reduce substance use and reoffending risk. These results highlight the promising role of VR technology as an innovative tool for rehabilitation in probation systems and underscore its potential for culturally sensitive, scalable interventions.