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.
These guidelines reflect the insights of practitioners from different geographic regions, disciplines and sectors, and reflect an emerging consensus on good practice among practitioners. The core idea behind them is that, in the early phase of an emergency, social supports are essential to protect and support mental health and psychosocial well-being. In addition, the guidelines recommend selected psychological and psychiatric interventions for specific problems. The guidelines include key activities for the campaign such as advocacy events, developing plans of action, coordination tools and checklist to identify gaps. It also includes key messages and ideas for implementation to communities, governments, donors, UN organizations and NGOs. The guidelines is translated to 14 differe3nt languages and can be used as:
1) A guide for programme planning and design
2) Advocacy for better practice
3) Resource for interventions or actions
4) A coordinating tool
5) Checklist to identify gaps