Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Crisis and Conflict: Report of the Mental Health Working Group

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S2) ◽  
pp. s217-s227 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Allden ◽  
L. Jones ◽  
I. Weissbecker ◽  
M. Wessells ◽  
P. Bolton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Humanitarian Settings ◽  
Group Members

AbstractIntroduction:The Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support was convened as part of the 2009 Harvard Humanitarian Action Summit. The Working Group chose to focus on ethical issues in mental health and psychosocial research and programming in humanitarian settings. The Working Group built on previous work and recommendations, such as theInter-Agency Standing Committee's Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.Objectives:The objective of this working group was to address one of the factors contributing to the deficiency of research and the need to develop the evidence base on mental health and psychosocial support interventions during complex emergencies by proposing ethical research guidelines. Outcomes research is vital for effective program development in emergency settings, but to date, no comprehensive ethical guidelines exist for guiding such research efforts.Methods:Working Group members conducted literature reviews which included peer-reviewed publications, agency reports, and relevant guidelines on the following topics: general ethical principles in research, cross-cultural issues, research in resource-poor countries, and specific populations such as trauma and torture survivors, refugees, minorities, children and youth, and the mentally ill. Working Group members also shared key points regarding ethical issues encountered in their own research and fieldwork.Results:The group adapted a broad definition of the term “research”, which encompasses needs assessments and data gathering, as well as monitoring and evaluation. The guidelines are conceptualized as applying to formal and informal processes of assessment and evaluation in which researchers as well as most service providers engage. The group reached consensus that it would be unethical not to conduct research and evaluate outcomes of mental health and psychosocial interventions in emergency settings, given that there currently is very little good evidence base for such interventions. Overarching themes and issues generated by the group for further study and articulation included: purpose and benefits of research, issues of validity, neutrality, risk, subject selection and participation, confidentiality, consent, and dissemination of results.Conclusions:The group outlined several key topics and recommendations that address ethical issues in conducting mental health and psychosocial research in humanitarian settings. The group views this set of recommendations as a living document to be further developed and refined based on input from colleagues representing different regions of the globe with an emphasis on input from colleagues from low-resource countries.

Transitioning Mental Health & Psychosocial Support: From Short-Term Emergency to Sustainable Post-Disaster Development. Humanitarian Action Summit 2011

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 470-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.P. Patel ◽  
J. Russell ◽  
K. Allden ◽  
T.S. Betancourt ◽  
P. Bolton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Development Phase ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Psychosocial Programs

AbstractIntroduction: The Working Group (WG) on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support participated in its second Humanitarian Action Summit in 2011. This year, the WG chose to focus on a new goal: reviewing practice related to transitioning mental health and psychosocial support programs from the emergency phase to long-term development. The Working Group's findings draw on a review of relevant literature as well as case examples.Objectives: The objective of the Working Group was to identify factors that promote or hinder the long term sustainability of emergency mental health and psychosocial interventions in crisis and conflict, and to provide recommendations for transitioning such programs from relief to development.Methods: The Working Group (WG) conducted a review of relevant literature and collected case examples based on experiences and observations of working group members in implementing mental and psychosocial programming in the field. The WG focused on reviewing literature on mental health and psychosocial programs and interventions that were established in conflict, disaster, protracted crisis settings, or transition from acute phase to development phase. The WG utilized case examples from programs in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Sierra Leone, Aceh (Indonesia), Sri Lanka, and New Orleans (United States).Results: The WG identified five key thematic areas that should be addressed in order to successfully transition lasting and effective mental health and psychosocial programs from emergency settings to the development phase. The five areas identified were as follows: Government and Policy, Human Resources and Training, Programming and Services, Research and Monitoring, and Finance.Conclusions: The group identified several recommendations for each thematic area, which were generated from key lessons learned by working group members through implementing mental health and psychosocial support programs in a variety of settings, some successfully sustained and some that were not.

scholarly journals Tutor of Resilience: A Model for Psychosocial Care Following Experiences of Adversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Giordano ◽  
Alessandra Cipolla ◽  
Michael Ungar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Program Development ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Psychosocial Care ◽  
Phase Model ◽  
Culturally Specific ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Humanitarian Settings ◽  
Training Service

This article describes a model for training service providers to provide interventions that build resilience among individuals who have experienced adversity. The Tutor of Resilience model emphasizes two distinct dimensions to training: (1) transforming service providers' perceptions of intervention beneficiaries by highlighting their strengths and capacity for healing; and (2) flexibly building contextually and culturally specific interventions through a five-phase model of program development and implementation. Tutor of Resilience has been employed successfully with child and youth populations under stress in humanitarian settings where mental health and psychosocial support professionals are required to design and deliver interventions that enhance resilience among vulnerable children.

scholarly journals Developing the Group Facilitation Assessment of Competencies Tool for Group-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Interventions in Humanitarian and Low-Resource Settings

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 334
Author(s):  
Gloria A. Pedersen ◽  
Manaswi Sangraula ◽  
Pragya Shrestha ◽  
Pooja Lakshmin ◽  
Alison Schafer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Group Facilitation ◽  
Humanitarian Settings ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Assessment Of Competencies

In humanitarian settings, mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) are often delivered in group-based formats. Group interventions enable providers to reach more individuals when resources and technical expertise are limited. Group-based programs also foster social support, empathy, and collective problem-solving among the participants. To remedy the current lack of tools available to assess the group facilitation competencies of individuals delivering group-based MHPSS, we made it our objective to develop such a tool. Our approach, which focused on adults, complimented a similar initiative underway for children and adolescents. We reviewed MHPSS manuals to identify key group facilitation competencies, which include developing and reviewing group ground rules, facilitating participation among all group members, fostering empathy between members, encouraging collaborative problem-solving, addressing barriers to attendance, time management, and ensuring group confidentiality. We then developed the Group Facilitation Assessment of Competencies (GroupACT) Tool. The GroupACT is a structured observational tool for assessing these competencies during standardized role-plays with actor clients, or in vivo during the delivery of group sessions with actual clients. We conclude this article with guidance for using the GroupACT to assess facilitators' competencies in providing group-based MHPSS in the health, education, protection, and other sectors in humanitarian settings.

scholarly journals Research Priorities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings

PLoS Medicine ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e1001096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wietse A. Tol ◽  
Vikram Patel ◽  
Mark Tomlinson ◽  
Florence Baingana ◽  
Ananda Galappatti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Humanitarian Settings

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings

2020 ◽  
pp. 373-388
Author(s):  
Inka Weissbecker ◽  
Peter Ventevogel ◽  
Fahmy Hanna ◽  
Soumitra Pathare
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Humanitarian Settings

scholarly journals Improving mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings: reflections on research funded through R2HC

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wietse A. Tol ◽  
Alastair Ager ◽  
Cecile Bizouerne ◽  
Richard Bryant ◽  
Rabih El Chammay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Psychosocial Needs ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Humanitarian Settings ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Major knowledge gaps remain concerning the most effective ways to address mental health and psychosocial needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises. The Research for Health in Humanitarian Crisis (R2HC) program aims to strengthen humanitarian health practice and policy through research. As a significant portion of R2HC’s research has focused on mental health and psychosocial support interventions, the program has been interested in strengthening a community of practice in this field. Following a meeting between grantees, we set out to provide an overview of the R2HC portfolio, and draw lessons learned. In this paper, we discuss the mental health and psychosocial support-focused research projects funded by R2HC; review the implications of initial findings from this research portfolio; and highlight four remaining knowledge gaps in this field. Between 2014 and 2019, R2HC funded 18 academic-practitioner partnerships focused on mental health and psychosocial support, comprising 38% of the overall portfolio (18 of 48 projects) at a value of approximately 7.2 million GBP. All projects have focused on evaluating the impact of interventions. In line with consensus-based recommendations to consider a wide range of mental health and psychosocial needs in humanitarian settings, research projects have evaluated diverse interventions. Findings so far have both challenged and confirmed widely-held assumptions about the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial interventions in humanitarian settings. They point to the importance of building effective, sustained, and diverse partnerships between scholars, humanitarian practitioners, and funders, to ensure long-term program improvements and appropriate evidence-informed decision making. Further research needs to fill knowledge gaps regarding how to: scale-up interventions that have been found to be effective (e.g., questions related to integration across sectors, adaptation of interventions across different contexts, and optimal care systems); address neglected mental health conditions and populations (e.g., elderly, people with disabilities, sexual minorities, people with severe, pre-existing mental disorders); build on available local resources and supports (e.g., how to build on traditional, religious healing and community-wide social support practices); and ensure equity, quality, fidelity, and sustainability for interventions in real-world contexts (e.g., answering questions about how interventions from controlled studies can be transferred to more representative humanitarian contexts).

scholarly journals Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: linking practice and research

The Lancet ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 378 (9802) ◽  
pp. 1581-1591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wietse A Tol ◽  
Corrado Barbui ◽  
Ananda Galappatti ◽  
Derrick Silove ◽  
Theresa S Betancourt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychosocial Support ◽  
Humanitarian Settings

The use of email in a child and adolescent mental health service: are staff ready?

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cartwright ◽  
Peter Gibbon ◽  
Brett M McDermott ◽  
William Bor
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health Service

All staff members of a child and adolescent mental health service were invited to participate in a survey about the use of email. Sixty-two of the 105 staff members responded to the survey, a participation rate of 59%. Of the respondents, 32 were allied health staff, 10 were nurses, seven were administrative staff, six were medical staff, three were operational staff and four were acting in a combination of these roles. The respondents reported extensive work-related email usage and considered that they were confident in using email despite low levels of training. However, they did not feel that they understood the legal and ethical issues involved. Furthermore, there was limited incorporation of email into standard record keeping. The majority of respondents thought that increased use of email would lead to a greater workload, a consequence they considered would probably increase over time. Many commented on the quick and practical use of this medium, but were wary about using email with individuals outside the service organization, especially if it were to contain clinical material. There was low use of email directly with clients, and clinicians were ambivalent about incorporating email into therapy. The results suggest that it is timely to consider the utility and appropriateness of email communication with clients and external service providers, and to formulate guidelines and procedures to ensure the confidentiality of client information and the safety of clients and staff.

scholarly journals College of Occupational Therapists: Position Paper on the Way Ahead for Research, Education and Practice in Mental Health

1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 390-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Craik ◽  
Chris Austin ◽  
John D Chacksfield ◽  
Gabrielle Richards ◽  
Donna Schell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Position Paper ◽  
Research Education ◽  
The Future ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
The Way

The future of occupational therapy in mental health has been a topic of reflection and debate. The Education and Research Board (now the Education and Practice Board) of the College of Occupational Therapists created a Working Group to develop a position paper on the way ahead for research, education and practice in mental health. Following consultation, the Working Group reviewed literature, examined current research and surveyed practitioners, managers and educators. From these findings, recommendations have been made which will create a firmer evidence base for the practice of occupational therapy in mental health, leading to a more effective use of the expertise of occupational therapists and an improved service for users.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document