Competency Assessment of Non-Specialists Delivering a Psychological Intervention in Lebanon : A Process Evaluation

There is an increasing need to improve the competency and quality of non-specialists delivering psychological interventions. As part of the Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support (EQUIP) initiative, this study evaluates the process of roleplay-based competency assessments using three tools to assess the competencies of facilitators delivering a psychological intervention for children in Lebanon. With a group of five competency raters, five facilitators and four actors, this study uses a mixed methods approach, comprising competency assessment data, qualitative interviews and focus group discussions. Data were collected during a two-phase process. Findings of the study showed inter-rater agreement was generally acceptable after additional training of raters. Eventually, it is feasible to prepare actors, facilitators and raters on roleplays for effective implementation of competency-driven training. As for the non-specialists, it was found that overall the experience of taking part in competency assessments was useful to understand their points of improvement. Pre- to post-training improvements in competencies showed that despite reported feelings of anxiety, the facilitators benefited from the feedback given on their competencies. We concluded that using roleplay-based competency assessments and preparing for competency-based training is feasible and useful to ensure quality control in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) service provision.

Reference: 
Rozane El Masri, Frederik Steen, April R Coetzee, May Aoun, Brandon A Kohrt, Alison Schafer, Gloria A Pedersen, Rabih El Chammay, Mark J.D Jordans, Gabriela V Koppenol-Gonzalez | 2023
In: Intervention, the Journal of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict Affected Areas ; ISSN: 1571-8883 | 21 | 1 | avril | 47-57
https://doi.org/10.4103/intv.intv_15_22
Keywords: 
Assessment, Interventions, Lebanon, Mental health, Psychosocial support, Statistical Analysis, Supervision, Training programs