Comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support case management and indicative care pathways within humanitarian settings

This article describes the approach, implementation and evaluation of a pilot mental health and psychosocial support case management programme that was developed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria. The aim was to provide a description of the programme approach, its implementation and outputs. The programme integrates different forms of case management approaches based on a multi-layered, stepped care model. Earlier results of mixed method monitoring and evaluation revealed improvement in wellbeing among programme participants.

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Not doing more, but doing differently : integrating a community based psychosocial approach into other sectors

A multi-layered approach to mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies includes the integration of psychosocial approaches into sectors with primary aims other than the enhancement of mental health and psychosocial support. This paper shares the experiences of Church of Sweden's psychosocial team in supporting its partner organisations (within the ACT Alliance) to integrate a community based psychosocial approach into programmes in sectors including: education, child protection, livelihoods, water and sanitation, and food security.

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Mainstreaming mental health and psychosocial support in camp coordination and camp management. The experience of the International Organization for Migration in the north east of Nigeria and South Sudan

This article examines the efforts of the International Organization for Migration to mainstream mental health and psychosocial considerations into camp coordination and camp management, through capacity building and provision of direct psychosocial support. It focusses on the activities carried out by the International Organization for Migration in South Sudan, in the Protection of Civilians Areas, and in the north east of Nigeria, with the aim to identify relevant challenges and best practices.

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Linking mental health and psychosocial support and disaster risk reduction : applying a wellbeing lens to disaster risk reduction

The field of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in emergencies has been slow to engage with the growing global policy consensus around disaster risk reduction (DRR) as embodied by the Hyogo Framework for Action and its successor, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. However, there are encouraging recent efforts to harness the synergies that exist between the fields of DRR and MHPSS.

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The integration of livelihood support and mental health and psychosocial wellbeing for populations who have been subject to severe stressors

This article aims to promote the integration of mental health and psychosocial support into livelihood programmes, presenting existing research within behavioural economics, humanitarian and economic fields that support the need and effectiveness of such integration. It presents examples of mental health and psychosocial support integration into livelihood programmes put in place by a grass roots organisation in the USA and the largest development institution in the world, the World Bank Group, respectively.

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When psychological first aid is not enough : personal reflections on psychosocial interventions in Duma, a village in north West Bank

This personal reflection describes the experience of a Swiss/Belgian psychologist who has been working as a mental health programme coordinator in Palestine for Médecins du Monde France for 2.5 years. His reflection (which does not necessarily reflect the view of Médecins du Monde France) touches on the importance of rethinking psychosocial interventions for individuals and communities facing continuous critical events.

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Psychological interventions for children and young people affected by armed conflict or political violence : a systematic literature review

Youths exposed to armed conflict have a higher prevalence of mental health and psychosocial difficulties. Diverse interventions exist that aim to ameliorate the effect of armed conflict on the psychological and psychosocial wellbeing of conflict affected youths. However, the evidence base for the effectiveness of these interventions is limited. Using standard review methodology, this review aims to address the effectiveness of psychological interventions employed among this population. The search was performed across four databases and grey literature.

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Psychosocial support among refugees

The aim of this paper is to examine the psychosocial needs and stressors among refugees of con￡icts within

developing countries, and their group based, social support mechanisms. Systematic literature searches

of peer reviewed journal articles (nU60 articles) were carried out using the following factors: type

(refugee); cause (con’icts); location (developing countries). As refugees move towards a prolonged

urban displacement phase, needs and stressors became di!erent than those of the acute phase.While

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The microcosms of violence

Acts of violence are often studied as facts, not as cultural and symbolic expressions.Within this article,

the author will shed light on another dimension; explaining how a personal experience of unprovoked

assault changed the author’s scholarly vision of the intrusive nature of violence, as well as how violence

in￡uences the subjective perception of victims. He will show that during that moment of violence, all

cultural meaning unravels and the social imagery of the perpetrator is internalised by those that are victimised.

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‘The problem is the silence’ : challenges providing support to local INGO staff in Gaza

​This field report reviews some of the challenges encountered in providing support to local international, nongovernmental organisations staff in Gaza, shortly following the cessation of conflict in July and August of 2014. Methodology and the content of group sessions are described. The paper concludes with highlights from the evaluation, reflections on what was learned, and some recommendations on the provision of further staff support in the future.

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