Cultural competency means that, as a provider, you are able to interact effectively with people of different cultures, by incorporating their unique beliefs, behaviors, and needs into their diagnosis and treatment plan. Simply put, a culturally competent mental health care provider is able to consider how someone’s culture, race, and ethnicity may influence their mental health, and the best way to treat them.
An ethnic, religious or linguistic minority is any group of persons which constitutes less than half of the population in the entire territory of a State whose members share common characteristics of culture, religion or language, or a combination of any of these.
In the mental health arena, unlike general health, health care disparities predominate over disparities in mental health per se. Strategies to improve health care in general, such as improving access to care and improving the quality of care, would do much to eliminate mental health care disparities. However, a diverse mental health workforce, as well as provider and patient education, are important to eliminating mental health care disparities.
Sexual, gender and ethnic minorities have faced significant health-related difficulties, especially in terms of mental health. In the past decade, many studies have been published focusing on the mental health scenario for these groups. There is a need to develop and implement various initiatives, including social support groups, to provide discrimination-free assistance.
This paper aims to review immigration trends in Europe and identify problems and needs of immigrant and ethnic minority children and youth with respect to mental health services.
The call for cultural competence in mental health practice has been a frequent theme voiced by the four major ethnic minority psychological associations. In an effort to address concerns and provide assistance to service providers, these four associations have produced this booklet, Psychological Treatment of Ethnic Minority Populations.
In this perspectives article, we consider the potential that digital technology holds for supporting non-specialist health workers in delivering evidence-based mental health care. Specifically, from our search of the academic literature, we identified seven promising examples from primary care settings in different low-income and middle-income countries (including India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Peru, China, and Nigeria) where digital platforms are being used to support delivery of mental health care from a variety of non-specialist providers by offering training, digital tools for diagnosis, guiding treatment, facilitating supervision, and integrating services. We summarize these examples and discuss future opportunities to use digital technology for supporting the development of a trained, effective, and sustainable mental health workforce. We also consider the potential to leverage these technologies for integrating mental health care into existing health systems in low resource settings.
After several years of working with the manual on sexual violence against women in war and conflict situations, we at MHHRI are proud to introduce these two new manuals. These manuals represent an important tool for helpers and caregivers working with children, boys and men who have survived sexual abuse in war, conflict, humanitarian crises and contexts with limited resources.
Our aim with the manuals is to provide practical guidance for helpers on how best to support and help boys, men and children who have experienced sexual violence in various challenging situations. The manuals deal with different aspects of these topics, how traumatic events affect the mental health of those exposed, as well as practical approaches and tools that can be used to meet their psychological needs.
This well being guide is for individual self-care, and for peers and teams who work together. Each section can be tested or incorporated within regular meetings with a focus on caring for the carers. Humanitarians and people working in helping professions need to take care of themselves in order not to burn out and to be effective in their work. The exercises in this guide are for all humanitarian staff, volunteers and for recipients of mental health and psychosocial support services. If practised and used regularly, this catalogue of tried and practised tools can regulate stress, calm when distressed, promote sleep, and strengthen inner resilience. This guide is available in Ukrainian, Arabic, Portuguese, Bosnian and French.
The Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners (PFA) was developed by Save the Children Denmark for the Child Protection Initiative, to facilitate training in psychological first aid with a focus on children. It is aimed at developing skills and competences that will help child protection staff reduce the initial distress of children who have recently been exposed to a traumatic event. The training targets Save the Childrens staff, partners, and professionals such as teachers, educators, health and social workers etc., and volunteers working directly with children in emergencies or in the aftermath of conflicts, natural disasters and critical events. It is available in Arabic. English, French and Spanish.
The PFA II, Dealing with traumatic responses in children manual provides guidance for staff working with children who are severely affected psychologically by acute crisis. It is not a clinical tool and does not in itself qualify staff to engage in clinical interventions. Save the Children’s Psychological First Aid Training for Child Practitioners, which is currently being rolled out in several regions, lays the foundation for providing PFA as a basic psychological support. The manual is available in both English and Arabic.
The PFA one-day programme manual is a condensed psychological first aid training based on the original two-day Psychological First Aid Training for Child Practitioners. It builds on adaptations of this manual in Japan, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. This training offers child practitioners skills and competencies to reduce the initial distress of children caused by accidents, natural disasters, conflicts, and other critical incidents. The program is available in both English and Arabic.
Psychological First Aid for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has been developed for the staff and volunteers of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other organizations working in situations where psychological first aid (PFA) may be relevant. Psychological first aid is a direct response and set of actions to help someone in distress. It is an approach to helping that is particularly well-suited for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as it is based on the fundamental principle of humanity and the intention to help prevent and alleviate human suffering. (In English, Dari, Arabic, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Ukrainian)
Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) is an evidence-informed intervention model to assist students, families, school personnel, and school partners in the immediate aftermath of an emergency. PFA-S is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by emergencies, and to foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning and coping.
Traumatized students are especially prone to difficulty in self-regulation, negative thinking, being on high alert, difficulty trusting adults, and inappropriate social interactions (Lacoe, 2013; Terrasi & de Galarce, 2017). They often haven’t learned to express emotions healthily and instead show their distress through aggression, avoidance, shutting down, or other off-putting behaviors. These actions can feel antagonistic to teachers who don’t understand the root cause of the student’s behavior, which can lead to misunderstandings, ineffective interventions, and missed learning time.
Neurobiologically, students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe, known, and cared for within their schools (Aupperle et al., 2012). When teachers are proactive and responsive to the needs of students suffering from traumatic stress and make small changes in the classroom that foster a feeling of safety, it makes a huge difference in their ability to learn.
We also know that in times of crises and disaster there is an increased level of violence, in particular gender-based violence (GBV). GBV is a serious problem in the context of complex emergencies and natural disasters where normal structures of society are seriously affected and alternative safeguards not yet in place. Women and children are often targets of abuse and are the most vulnerable to exploitation, violence, and abuse simply because of their gender, age, and status in society. Women and girls that are displaced from their homes will often experience multiple traumatic experiences.
Guideline by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Rates of mental health problems often increase during natural disasters, war and conflict, and pre-existing disorders may also resurface or be exacerbated by conflict or violence. Although people with mental health disorders constitute a particularly vulnerable group, they are often neglected. Chapter 7 concerns people affected by emergencies.
An evidence-informed modular approach for assisting people in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism: to reduce initial distress, and to foster short and long-term adaptive functioning. It is for use by disaster responders including first responders, incident command systems, primary and emergency health care providers, school crisis response teams, faith-based organizations, disaster relief organizations.
These pages cover the impact of floods on Children and Families with headlines such as Readiness, Response, and Recovery regarding floods.
This toolkit is a compilation of a range of several practice guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in humanitarian contexts, to enable easy access to key multi-lingual resources. The aim is to provide MHPSS practitioners, policy and decision-makers easily-accessible information on resources and tools related to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) that are useful in the case of an emergency.
Better Learning Programme 1: Supporting Students’ Recovery in Emergencies. The handbook Better learning programs is created by NRC, UiT and Jon-Håkon Schultz, Helen Norheim, Sonia Gomez, Annelies Ollieuz. This handbook is for teachers working with children in the demanding conditions of emergencies – war, conflict, natural disasters, and other types of crises – and their aftermath.
ICAR Foundation based in Romania. Support for Ukrainian migrants. Through its teams near the border-crossings with Ukraine, ICAR supports the Ukrainian migrants with medical assistance, social and psychological counselling services.
Psychosocial support to people in Ukraine and impacted countries
The IFRC PS Centre provides a resource library with guides, manuals, and training material to assist the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in psychosocial support to the millions of people who have left their homes in Ukraine and crossed into neighbouring countries.
ICMP works with governments, civil society organizations, justice institutions, international organizations and others throughout the world to address the issue of people who have gone missing as a result of armed conflict, human rights abuses, disasters, organized crime, irregular migration and other causes. Their mission is to ensure the cooperation of governments and others in addressing the issue of missing persons, including provisions to build institutional capacity, encourage public involvement and address the needs of justice, and to provide technical assistance to governments in locating, recovering and identifying missing persons.
In helping refugees, asylum-seekers, detainees, and torture survivors, a major challenge is quickly locating resources that fit the situation and the individual. This website (set up by a clinical psychologist) collects over 130 useful links to help torture survivors and asylum seekers to find information on guidelines, networks, legal services, etc.
The International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions offering shelter to writers and artists at risk, advancing freedom of expression, defending democratic values and promoting international solidarity. ICORN member cities offer shelter to those at risk as a direct consequence of their creative activities. Their aim is to be able to host as many persecuted writers and artists as possible in ICORN cities and together with our sister networks and organisations, to form a dynamic and sustainable global network for freedom of expression.
The UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture is a unique and universal humanitarian tool available to the UN and OHCHR providing direct assistance to victims of torture and their family members wherever torture occurs – as outlined in its Mission statement: E | F | S (PDF) and Q&A on the Fund. The Fund aims at healing the physical and psychological consequences of torture on victims and their families, thus restoring their dignity and role in society.
The Trust Fund for Victims envisions a world where the rights of individuals are fulfilled and where survivors of the gravest human rights violations are empowered to live a life of hope, dignity and respect. The Trust Fund for Victims responds to the harm resulting from the crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC by ensuring the rights of victims and their families through the provision of reparations and assistance.
Working in: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Northern Uganda.
For adult survivors of trauma, violence, and loss through an innovative, clinically-proven model of comprehensive care, advocacy, and outreach. The goal of the organisation is to eliminate barriers to healing and inspire survivors to embrace hope. Based in San Francisco, USA.
Freedom from Torture provide specialist psychological therapy to help asylum seekers and refugees who have survived torture recover and rebuild their lives in the UK. They also provide training for professionals working with torture survivors. With survivors, they campaign for change in the UK and across the world.
The Survivors Trust is the largest umbrella agency for specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UK and has been providing infrastructure support to members for the past 20 years. They have 120 member agencies based in the UK and Ireland providing information, advice, support and therapy to over 80,000 individual survivors each year. Their services work with victims and survivors of all ages, all genders, of all forms of sexual violence, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, including support for partners and family members.
The IASP was established in 1960 and is the largest international organization dedicated to suicide prevention and to the alleviation of the effects of suicide. It has members in more than 50 countries. Suicide and non-fatal suicidal behaviour are major public health problems across the world. Data from the WHO indicate that approximately one million people worldwide die by suicide each year. This corresponds to one death by suicide every 40 seconds. The number of lives lost each year through suicide exceeds the number of deaths due to homicide and war combined. The information is available in Spanish here.
The National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) is a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal education and advocacy organization based at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. NCVLI actively promotes comprehensive and enforceable legal rights for crime victims, and access to knowledgeable attorneys to help protect those rights in every case, through victim centered legal advocacy, education, and resources.
A US-based research and educational center on PTSD and traumatic stress. Their mission is to advance the clinical care and social welfare of America’s Veterans and others who have experienced trauma, or who suffer from PTSD, through research, education, and training in the science, diagnosis, and treatment of PTSD and stress-related disorders.
This organization represents “the main coalition of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fighting against torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The OMCT works with 200 member organisations to end torture and ill-treatment, assist victims, and protect human rights defenders at risk wherever they are.
This human rights organization helps torture survivors to obtain justice and reparation. Initiated by a torture survivor, established in 1992 as a charity organization in the UK. REDRESS works with survivors to help restore their dignity and to make torturers accountable.
With 160 member centres in 76 countries, the International Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (irct)r is the largest global network of medical and legal professionals working with and for survivors of torture to rebuild their lives through rehabilitation, and to fight for their human rights and justice.
Як допомогти дітям та молоді під час війни та кризи. Теми: Як подбати про себе як про помічника у світлі травми та сильних емоцій. Ми, як помічники, маємо головний ресурс – це наша здатність до співчуття та емпатії. Це також робить нас найбільш вразливими. Хелен розповість про те, як ми, як помічники, можемо підтримувати професійний та особистий ріст. Незабаром з’являться українські субтитри. Topics: How to take care of yourself as a helper in the light of encountering trauma and strong emotions. As a helper, our main resource is our capacity for compassion and empathy. This is also what makes us the most vulnerable. Helen will talk about how we as helpers can last and maintain professional and personal growth.
Як допомогти дітям та молоді під час війни та кризи. Tеми: Поради батькам і вихователям, батьківський супровід під час війни. Чому батьки важливі, та як вони можуть підтримати своїх дітей. Крім того, як ми, як помічники, можемо підтримувати батьків, щоб вони були цією опорою. Хелен розповідає про концепцію захисного щита, типові реакції на травму та про те, чому ми можемо навчитися у тих, хто добре справляється, і про модель СТОП. Незабаром з’являться українські субтитри. Topics: Advice to parents and caregivers, parental guidance in the time of war. Why parents are important and how they can support their children. In addition how we as helpers can support parents to be that support. Helen talks about the concept of the protective shield, common trauma reactions, and what can we learn from those who cope well and the STOP model.
Як допомогти дітям та молоді під час війни та кризи. Теми: Як допомогти підліткам 12-18 років. Як це бути підлітком під час війні та надзвичайних ситуацій? Який нормальний розвиток нашого тіла, розуму та відносин? Які основні завдання розвитку в цей період? Чи можуть вони бути порушені через травму? Які найпоширеніші реакції? Які хороші стратегії подолання? Незабаром з’являться українські субтитри. Topics: How to assist adolescents 12-18. How is it to be an adolescent in war and emergency? What is the normal development in our body, mind, and relationships? What are the core developmental tasks during this period? Can these be disturbed by being exposed to trauma? What are the most common reactions? What are good coping strategies?
Як допомогти дітям та молоді під час війни та кризи. Теми: Як діти реагують на травму і як може порушитися розвиток. Як допомогти батькам з дітьми 0-3 років. Як регулювати дітей 3-12 років. Незабаром з’являться українські субтитри. Topics: How children react to trauma and how development might be disturbed. How to assist parents with children age 0-3. How to regulate children age 3-12.
Робота з людьми, які зазнали погроз і насильства – піклування про себе як про помічника. Грубі правопорушення та стреси, пов’язані з війною та конфліктом. Реакції, які часто виникають при гострих стресових ситуаціях. To meet people exposed to threats and serious abuse – to take care of yourself as a helper. Gross violations and stresses related to war and conflict. Frequent reactions in acute stress situations.
Powerpoint available in Ukrainian and in English.
Піклування про себе як про помічника в контексті травми та сильних емоцій. Приклади надмірної залученості. Терапевта переповнюють емоції, він відчуває себе вразливим і нестабільним. Taking care of myself as a helper in the light of encountering trauma and strong emotions. Examples of over-involvement The therapist becomes full of emotions and feels vulnerable and unstable. Powerpoint is available in Ukrainian and in English.
Як допомогти дітям, що зазнали травми -2. Інструменти для регулювання емоцій /регулювання збудження. Інструменти, що допомагають контролювати вторгнення. How to help traumatized children- 2. Tools in emotion regulation /regulate arousal. Tools in helping control intrusion. Powerpoint is available in Ukrainian and in English.
Як допомогти дітям, що зазнали травми. Визначення травми: зовнішня подія, яка сприймається як загроза фізичній або психологічній цілісності – які елементи, які реакції та що потрібно виправити. How to help traumatized children. Trauma definition: «an external event that is experienced as a threat to physical or psychological integrity» – what are the elements, what are the reactions and what needs to be repaired. Powerpoint is available in Ukrainian and in English.
Піклування про себе як про помічника. Якщо ви як помічник не змозі ефективно працювати, інші інструменти буде важко використовувати. Тому вкрай важливо, щоб ви мали усвідомлення про зношеність, яка робить вашу роль складною, і вживали заходів, щоб забезпечити оптимальне функціонування. How to take care of yourself as a helper. If you as a helper do not function well, other tools will be difficult to use. It is crucial therefore that you are aware of the wear and tear that make your role challenging, and take steps to ensure that you can function optimally. Powerpoint is available in Ukrainian and in English.
Триєдиний мозок; як користуватися інструментами, які відповідають за активацію в мозку. Різні форми роботи з травмою. Допоможіть дитині пережити травму. The triune brain; how to use tools that corresponds to the activation in the brain. Different form of trauma processing. Help the child to process trauma. Powerpoint is available in Ukrainian and in English.
Як підтримати батьків, якщо їх дитина зазнала насильства? Виявлення того, що дитина зазнала сексуального насильства, є шокуючим та травматичним досвідом для батьків і піклувальників. Травматичний досвід впливає на їх самопочуття як батьків, а також як особистості.
How to support families when the child has been abused? Discovering that a child has been sexually abused is shocking and traumatic experience for parents and caregivers which impacts both on their sense of self as a parent and as a person. Powerpoint is available in Ukrainian and in English.
АХАЛАР -Тіло. Ресурс. Баланс – Відпочинок в Карпатах. У рамках проекту «Підвищення культури психічного здоров’я правозахисників та соціальних працівників» пропонуємо вашій увазі короткометражний фільм. Він був знятий під час нашого останнього ретриту в Карпатах 8-13 листопада 2021 року. Можна сказати, що мрія команди здійснилася – зняти та представити широкому загалу фільм про програму тренувань та відпочинку наших тренерів Віка Солоніцина. Юрій Трофименко та Юрій Усович підготували для помічників та правозахисників
AHALAR -Body. Resource. Balance – Retreat in the Carpathians mountains. As part of the project “Improving the culture of mental health of human rights defenders and social workers” we would like to present you a short film. It was filmed during our last retreat in the Carpathians on November 8-13, 2021. We can say that the team’s dream has come true – to shoot and present to the general public a film about the training and recreation program that our Wika Solonitsyna trainers Yuriy Trofimenko and Yuriy Usovich prepared for helpers and human rights defenders.
Настанова з міжвідомчого перенаправлення у сфері ПЗПСП. “Форма та Настанова з перенаправлення” є інструментами з організації міжвідомчих перенаправлень, шляхів перенаправлення, тренінгів
та семінарів, а також засобом ведення записів щодо перенаправлень згідно з мінімальними стандартами.
Inter-Agency Referral Guidance Note for MHPSS. The referral form is intended to be used by humanitarian organisations working with persons with MHPSS problems. The referral form and guidance note are tools to facilitate inter-agency referrals, referral pathways, trainings and workshops, and as a means to document referrals in accordance with minimum standards.
Available in Ukrainian and in English.
Управління проблемами плюс (УП+). Індивідуальна психологічна допомога для дорослих у стані дистресу в громадах, що знаходяться під впливом несприятливих обставин: Запропонований посібник описує інтервенцію низької інтенсивності, що називається «Управління проблемами плюс (УП+)», і яка була розроблена для роботи з дорослими у стані дистресу в громадах, що знаходяться під впливом несприятливих обставин.
Problem management plus (PM+). Individual psychological help for adults impaired by distress in communities exposed to adversity: This manual describes a low-intensity psychological intervention called Problem Management Plus (PM+) for adults impaired by distress in communities who are exposed to adversity.
Available in Ukrainian and in English.
Що потрібно знати менеджерам програм з питань захисту? Цей документ розроблено для менеджерів програм з питань захисту, які працюють на національному та регіональному рівнях в країнах з низьким та середнім рівнем доходів. Він може використовуватися як координаторами Кластеру захисту (та координаторами 5 відповідних секторів цього Кластеру), так і менеджерами програм захисту, які працюють в урядових організаціях, ООН, інших міжнародних організаціях та програмах захисту місцевих НУО.
What should Protection Programme Managers Know? This document is for protection programme managers working at national and sub-national level in low and middle income countries. It is both for Protection Cluster coordinators (and coordinators of the five specific areas within the Cluster) and for protection programme managers in government, UN and non-UN international organisations and local NGO protection programmes.
Available in Ukrainian and in English.
Пам’ятка для поширення координаційними групами захисту дітей. Як підтримати вашу дитину у разі бомбардування. Tip sheet for distribution by Child Protection coordination teams. How you can support your child during bombing.
Available in Ukrainian and in English.
Перелік контрольних показників для використання на місцях. Під час надзвичайної ситуації може не бути можливості прочитати Керівництво МПК з психічного здоров’я та психосоціальної підтримки в надзвичайних ситуаціях у повному обсязі. Таке обмеження спричинило розроблення цієї версії, яка може бути використана як контрольний перелік показників для планування програм та реагування на надзвичайну ситуацію. Ця скорочена версія не може охопити всі важливі рекомендації, викладені в основному Керівництві. Читачам пропонується використовувати цю версію для роботи на місцях, але лише за умови використання необхідних частин з повної версії Керівництва.
Checklist for field use. Reading the full IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings from cover to cover may not be possible during an emergency. This limitation led to the development of this field version, which may be used as a check-list for programme planning and emergency response. This brief version cannot capture all the important points in the Guidelines. Readers are encouraged to use this field version only in conjunction with the full Guidelines.
Програма дій ВООЗ у сфері психічного здоров’я (mhGAP) — це програма ВООЗ, метою якої є вирішення проблеми браку послуг у сфері охорони здоров’я, спрямованих на людей, які страждають від психічних, неврологічних розладів і розладів, пов’язаних зі вживанням психоактивних речовин (ПНП). У рамках виконання цієї програми у 2010 р. було видано «ПосібникmhGAP з надання допомоги» (mhGAP-НД).
mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide. ПосібникmhGAP з надання допомоги. The mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) is a WHO programme that seeks to address the lack of care for people suffering from mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions. As part of this programme, the mhGAP Intervention Guide (mhGAPIG) was issued in 2010.
Available in Ukrainian and in English.
Мінімальний пакет послуг із психічного здоров’я та психосоціальної підтримки. Мета МПП полягає у сприянні зменшенню страждань і покращенню психічного здоров’я та психосоціального добробуту груп населення, що постраждали внаслідок гуманітарної кризи.
The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Services Package (MHPSS MSP) – field-test version. The goal of the MSP is contributing to reduced suffering and improved mental health and psychosocial well-being among populations affected by humanitarian crises.
Website is available in Ukrainian and in English.
Цей посібник призначений для тих, хто перебуває у стані стресу. від батьків та осіб, що забезпечують догляд що іншими, до фахівців сфери охорони здоров’я, які працюють у небезпечних ситуаціях.
This guide is for anyone who experiences stress, ranging from parents and other carers to health professionals working in dangerous situations.
Available in Ukrainian and in English.
У цьому посібнику описані принципи надання першої психологічної допомоги, яка включає гуманну, підтримуючу та практичну допомогу людям, постраждалим від складних кризових ситуацій. Посібник призначений тим, хто має можливість надавати допомогу людям, які пережили надзвичайно стресову ситуацію. У ньому описана структура надання підтримки людям з повагою до їхньої гідності, культури та можливостей. Незважаючи на свою назву, перша психологічна допомога включає як психологічну, так і соціальну підтримку.
Guide for field workers. Посібник фасилітатора з орієнтації працівників на місцях. This guide covers psychological first aid which involves humane, supportive and practical help to fellow human beings suffering serious crisis events. It is written for people in a position to help others who have experienced an extremely distressing event. It gives a framework for supporting people in ways that respect their dignity, culture and abilities. Despite its name, psychological first aid covers both social and psychological support.
Available in Ukrainian