In developing the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, attention to social process was key for success. In retrospect, humility was crucial for reflecting on one’s own dogmas, opening up to different points of view and avoiding ideological fixity and unproductive debates. Inclusivity was the key for enabling learning from diverse perspectives and areas of expertise, drawing on understandings from different countries and developing richly contextual approaches.

Refugees and other displaced persons are exposed to many risk factors for unhealthy alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and concomitant mental health problems. Evidence-based services for AOD use and mental health comorbidities are rarely available in humanitarian settings. In high income countries, screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) systems can provide appropriate care for AOD use but have rarely been used in low- and middle-income countries and to our knowledge never tested in a humanitarian setting.

Youth living with war and ongoing conflict are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events and cumulative stress which can result in temporarily impaired academic functioning and reduced wellbeing in school. In Palestine, the Ministry of Education has included psychosocial support programmes in the schools for the purpose of reducing stress reactions and improving school functioning amongst students.

Mental health is an increasing concern around the world, but there is a substantial gap in terms of access to quality mental healthcare between Western and non-Western countries. To help close this gap and improve the delivery of mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), the UN’s 2016 Grand Bargain declared a new approach of prioritising the localisation of these services. This paper examines the effects of the Grand Bargain on the localisation of mental health and psychosocial support services in non-Western countries, as a means to decolonise mental health.