An outbreak of fear, rumours and stigma : psychosocial support for the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in West Africa

This field report summarises the experience and lessons learnt by the author, who was deployed as an International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies psychosocial delegate to Liberia for the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in July and August 2014. Psychosocial issues encountered in the field, including fear in local communities and among aid workers, the spreading of rumours, heath measures interfering with traditional rituals and stigmatisation are discussed in detail. Also included are suggestions for dealing with these issues and actions taken during the mission.

Mental illness and health in Sierra Leone affected by Ebola: lessons for health workers

Sierra Leone is currently going through the worst Ebola epidemic on record, creating anxiety and anxiety related, somatic symptoms. Additionally, increased psychiatric morbidity could be expected as a result of the adverse social and psychological consequences of the epidemic, exposing the country's weak, poorly resourced mental health services and highlighting the need for psychosocial interventions and development of psychiatric interventions.

The travellers dance: how Ebola prevention measures affect day to day life

While the international community remains concerned and focused on the potential spread of Ebola out of Africa, the author states that they also frequently ignore the deep psychological pain that the measures implemented to combat the disease are causing within impacted communities, as do the national authorities. She provides a snapshot of this moment in the crisis and highlights the painful impacts, dehumanising measures and makes a plea for international organisations to do more to be mindful of this pain.

Beyond the crisis: building back better mental health care in 10 emergency-affected areas using a longer-term perspective

Background
Major gaps remain – especially in low- and middle-income countries – in the realization of comprehensive, community-based mental health care. One potentially important yet overlooked opportunity for accelerating mental health reform lies within emergency situations, such as armed conflicts or natural disasters. Despite their adverse impacts on affected populations’ mental health and well being, emergencies also draw attention and resources to these issues and provide openings for mental health service development.
Case description

Improving mental health care in humanitarian emergencies

The mental health needs of people affected by emergencies are significant, but often overlooked by health-care providers. The world is facing an unprecedented number of humanitarian emergencies arising from conflict and disasters. In 2014, nearly 60 million people were forcibly displaced due to conflict, the highest number on record. Climatic and geological hazards continue to take their toll, as seen recently following the devastating earthquake in Nepal, cyclone in Vanuatu and flooding in China, Malawi and Myanmar.

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: a public mental health perspective.

Aims. To discuss the potential usefulness of a public health approach for ‘mental health and psychosocial support’ (MHPSS) interventions in humanitarian settings.

An eye for complexity. EMDR versus stabilisation in traumatised refugees

While the plight of those seeking refuge in Western countries continues to catch the public eye, the plight of those who have arrived often remains hidden. Many refugees resettled in Western countries struggle to attain a level of psychological well-being. Heavenly burdened by pre- and post-migration stressors, refugees are at considerable risk of developing PTSD. The accumulation of stressors is also what makes them, in the eyes of many clinicians, complex and difficult to treat.

Mental health and psychosocial support in the face of Ebola in Liberia: the personal and professional intersect. A personal account

This personal reflection is based on the author's experiences, a native Liberian, in her country at the beginning of the 2014 Ebola epidemic. It includes her account of events as Ebola cases and related deaths began to rise and the response appeared inadequate. Examples are presented where a robust psychosocial and mental health response was critically required, but most often lacking. This reflection focuses on the points where the author's personal and the professional life met as she co-led the psychosocial pillar of the national response team on Ebola.

Introduction to the Special Section on Ebola: reflections from the field

In 2013, journalists began to write about the first Ebola patients inWest Africa. Now, in 2015, we are at almost twenty thousand cases of people who are suspected of, or actually are, infected and many thousands of deaths further, mainly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. These countries, as well as the international community, not only face the loss of all those people, but also the tremendous

Making Secondary Trauma a Primary Issue: A Study of Eyewitness Media and Vicarious Trauma on the Digital Frontline

This report presents the findings of an in-depth study into the impact that viewing traumatic eyewitness media has upon the mental health of staff working for news, human rights and humanitarian organisations.
I see blood every day. I see bleeding bodies every day and I cannot think about this clinically or scientifically. I cannot look at cut off limbs without thinking ‘Oh my God’.

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