MHHRI psychological first aid and Ukrainian resources

We have here gathered some of the resources that we have used in our work together with AHALAR, in Ukraine over the last two years.

Here you can find the toolbox which is a collection of the tools that contains grounding exercises, metaphors, window of tolerance among other tools to provide psychological assistance in crises and emergencies.  You can get it in the following languages: Ukrainian,  English,  Norwegian and Romanian.

In addition we have compiled in the following newsletter information about psychological first aid developed for helpers, volunteers and professionals engaged in emergency work to support to persons exposed to war trauma, separation, loss, including sexual violence.

The PS Centre has produced a video in Ukrainian introducing the principles of Psychological First Aid. This video explains what PFA is and how its principles can be applied to help someone in distress.

One of the main human rights violations in the context of war is sexual violence. With our manual “Mental health and gender-based violence Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict – a training manual” you can provide psychological assistance to the survivors. The manual is also available in Ukrainian.

In addition, we have a three-day online webinar based on the “Mental health and gender-based violence Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict – a training manual” The core topics are: Gender Based Violence (GBV) Likewise, the Power Point presentation for the three days training is available in English download it download it here. 

Talking to survivors of trauma also affects the helper.  For all helpers empathy is an essential aspect of good help. This is also a source for compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatisation or secondary traumatic stress (STS). In the following Power Point you can find practical information in English.

Here you can use practical help through this Power Point document is part of the webinar Wellbeing, risk and human rights  – life as a human rights defender – in English

The organisation PRO.Школу has produced a number of videos – Free psychological support for teachers.

It is also possible to apply be able to join the facebook group Psy Crisis Team Ukraine with the aim to share access to proven methods of professional self-support, supervision, and sometimes even basic security . They coordinate and provide all possible support to psychologists who, due to circumstances, provide emergency psychological assistance related to the war in Ukraine.

Report HHRI GBV Manual

The Mental health and gender-based violence – Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict – a training manual – suggests approaches and techniques that address the psychological needs of GBV survivors, which helpers could use while assisting them. It focuses especially on the understanding of how trauma affects the lives of survivors. However, the manual is not a treatment manual, but a training manual for helpers working in crisis situations with little or no access to specialized healthcare within psychological and/or psychiatric field. This report review the work that has been done in developing, sharing content and conducting trainings in the years from 2012-2017.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, Humanitarian Response in Ukraine and Neighbouring Countries

In this document you can find several resources about mental health and psychosocial support in English, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovakian and Ukrainian.

Mental Health and Psychosocial support, Humanitarian Response in Ukraine and Neighbouring Countries, is made available by the IASC Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC RG MHPSS).

Realizing Refugees’ Right to Family Unity:The challenges to family reunification in Norway, Sweden and Denmark

Policies regarding family reunification have become increasingly strict over the last years, especially after the influx of asylum applications that all Scandinavian countries received in the summer and autumn of 2015. Shortly after, the number of asylum applications rapidly decreased, while the number of family reunification applications have continued to increase in recent years. The report, commissioned by UNHCR, is a comparative legal study of the legal framework, policies and practice pertaining to the family reunification procedure in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Stop the war on children – A crisis of recruitment

This latest report in our Stop the War on Children series looks in detail at one of the grave violations: children at risk of recruitment and use by armed forces or armed groups. There has been a rise in the number of verified incidents of children recruited and used by armed forces and groups, and the number of groups recruiting children has also increased. In three countries – Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen – the vast majority of children in conflict zones are deemed at risk of recruitment. This report and its key findings illustrate the war on children.

The well-being guide: reduce stress, recharge and build inner resilience.

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.
The well-being guide: reduce stress, recharge and build inner resilience 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. Remember it is self-empowering to focus on what you can control. You can take control of caring for yourself.

Seksuell vold mot gutter og menn i krig, konflikt og migrasjon. En håndbok for hjelpere om psykisk helse

MHHRI har i samarbeid med fagpersoner innenfor psykisk helsevern utviklet denne håndboken beregnet for hjelpere om kultursensitiv psykososial hjelp til gutter og menn som oppholder seg i Norge som asylsøkere, flyktninger og andre sårbare grupper, og som har overlevd seksuell vold i forbindelse med krig og flukt. Mange av disse faller utenfor det etablerte helsevesenet der det er naturlig å få hjelp for denne problematikken. Det finnes i dag ingen spesialisert form for hjelp eller tiltak beregnet på denne gruppen, og det er også mangel på kunnskap om hjelpebehovet, noe som innebærer begrenset tilgang på tiltak også innenfor det ordinære hjelpeapparatet. Dette er situasjonen i Norge i dag til tross for at omfanget av slike overgrepserfaringer er stort og konsekvensene for den psykiske helsen er alvorlige.

LAST NED HÅNDBOKEN

LAST NED HÅNDBOKEN
I samarbeid med fagpersoner innenfor psykisk helsevern utviklet denne håndboken beregnet for hjelpere om kultursensitiv psykososial hjelp til gutter og menn som oppholder seg i Norge som asylsøkere, flyktninger og andre sårbare grupper, og som har overlevd seksuell vold i forbindelse med krig og flukt. Mange av disse faller utenfor det etablerte helsevesenet der det er naturlig å få hjelp for denne problematikken. Det finnes i dag ingen spesialisert form for hjelp eller tiltak beregnet på denne gruppen, og det er også mangel på kunnskap om hjelpebehovet, noe som innebærer begrenset tilgang på tiltak også innenfor det ordinære hjelpeapparatet. Dette er situasjonen i Norge i dag til tross for at omfanget av slike overgrepserfaringer er stort og konsekvensene for den psykiske helsen er alvorlige.

Resilience and Mental Health Risks among Syrian Refugees in Europe: A Cultural Perspective

Addressing the mental health issues and cultural features of
resilience and recovery among Syrian refugee population is
a key challenge and a great necessity for mental health care
service providers in demographically changing context. Given
that the mental distress is framed in terms of disruption in
social relationships or in the spiritual realm in most of the
Middle Eastern refugees, these individuals usually prefer to seek
support of friends or family or implement religious practices
such as praying, in order to promote their adaptation in the face
of adversity. Culture influences not only one’s understanding
of mental distress and strategies to adapt such distressing
experiences, but also shapes attitudes towards and compliance
to treatment. […] While working with refugee
patients, it has been shown to be crucial to remain open to
multiple explanatory models including biomedical, psychological,
religious and traditional ones to enhance communication with
the refugee patients. This may refer to the fact that while
clinicians provide psychological treatment, the patients may
maintain their beliefs regarding what they believe/practice is also
effective for their treatment.

Resilience and mental health 2469-6676.100137

Working With Adolescent Girl GBV Survivors On The Move: Facilitator’s Training Manual

Understanding the diverse experiences of adolescent girls, the risks of GBV they face,
and barriers to getting assistance while on the move. By ensuring effective communication with
adolescent girls on the move. Working with adolescent girls to reduce the
GBV risks they face while on the move. Adapting quality care and support for GBV
survivors to adolescent girls in all their diversity and respond to the risks and barriers
to assistance they face while on the move. Understanding and using existing resources
(tools, guidance and training materials) to support these aims.

Mental Health Functioning in the Human Rights Field: Findings from an International Internet-Based Survey

Human rights advocates play a critical role in promoting respect for human rights worldwide, and engage in a broad range of strategies, including documentation of rights violations, monitoring, press work and report-writing, advocacy, and litigation. However, little is known about the impact of human rights work on the mental health of human rights advocates.

Resilience as Resistance: Mental health and well-being in human rights

What risks advocates face and how they might be mitigated? The mental health and well-being of advocates has often been neglected by human rights organizations, funders, and advocates themselves. Recently, however, activists and mental health professionals have begun giving the issue more attention, exploring what risks advocates face and how they might be mitigated. Human rights organizations increasingly want to bolster the resilience and creativity of their staff and constituents. Defenders increasingly see their own well-being as an imperative for sustainable movements.

Wellbeing, Risk, and Human Rights Practice

Human rights defenders at risk often find it difficult to talk about their mental and emotional wellbeing, even when they are concerned about it. Cultures of human rights practice tend to emphasise self-sacrifice, heroism, and martyrdom. These norms inhibit defenders from expressing their anxieties and seeking help. How can we engage in discussions about wellbeing in human rights practice? How can we strengthen personal and collective strategies for wellbeing amongst defenders at risk?

Vicarious resilience: a new concept in work with those who survive trauma

This study explores the formulation of a new concept: vicarious resilience. It addresses the question of how psychotherapists who work with survivors of political violence or kidnapping are affected by their clients’stories of resilience. It focuses on the psychotherapists’ interpretations of their clients’ stories, and how they make sense of the impact that these stories have had on their lives. In semistructured interviews, 12 psychotherapists who work with victims of political violence and kidnapping were interviewed about their perceptions of their clients’ overcoming of adversity. A phenomenological analysis of the transcripts was used to describe the themes that speak about the effects of witnessing how clients cope constructively with adversity. These themes are discussed to advance the concept of vicarious resilience and how it can contribute to sustaining and empowering trauma therapists.

Menneskerettighetsdagen: 10. desember 2021. Gutter og menn utsatt for seksuell vold i krig, konflikt og migrasjon

“Når gutter og menn ikke kommer med i statistikken over overlevere etter seksuell vold på flukt og i krigs-og konfliktsituasjoner, begås et alvorlig brudd på menneskerettighetene.” Litt over en måned etter Norge tiltrådte som medlem i FNs sikkerhetsråd i januar i år, fremhevet den norske FN ambassadøren Mona Juul at gutter og menn og personer med annen seksuell orientering eller kjønnsidentitet er spesielt sårbare for seksuell vold i krig og konflikt. Dette budskapet kommer ikke uten grunn, og bunner i mange års neglisjering av en form for vold begått mot gutter og menn som man i dag i mye større grad enn tidligere har skjønt omfanget av.

Protection, Self-Care And The Safety Of Human Rights Defenders

Threats against feminists, LGBTQI+ people and black women in their diversity are becoming increasingly evident. This violence exposes civil society´s lack of preparedness to handle the considerable risks to human rights work, in the current political scenario. Therefore, it has become very important to act quickly, to guarantee the day to day safety of women defenders, but also to support sustainability and protection in the long term. The analysis presented in this article was produced based on the testimonials of nine women who are feminists and human rights defenders. This article is an appeal for the need to deepen reflection on developing protection mechanisms to respond to the way in which gender and race inequality operate in preventing women from claiming their human rights, from living free of violence and participating fully in democratic processes.

Climate Change Taking a Toll on Your Mental Health? How to Cope With ‘Eco-Anxiety’

We’ve long passed the point of writing off signs of climate change as simply another phase in the normal cycle of global warming and cooling. Human actions have altered Earth’s climate, and the impact of this is becoming increasingly visible. Most people realize climate change can affect physical health through pollution, the spread of disease, and food scarcity. Mental health professionals also point to one serious mental health consequence: eco-anxiety. Eco-anxiety refers to persistent worries about the future of Earth and the life it shelters.

Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders

Facing gender-based violence in defense of land, natural resources and human rights. Natural resources and ecosystem services directly support millions of people’s livelihoods, providing food and water, being part of cultural and communal identities and supporting rights to life. However, increased global demand for minerals, timber, palm oil and land threaten the sustainability of these resources and the ability of people to continue surviving on, living with and conserving them. In some cases, powerful state and non-state actors exploit weak or corrupt governance structures to extract natural resources with impunity, even when doing so directly harms communities and usurps their rights to lands and resources.

Environmental Human Rights Defenders. A global crisis

Environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) are individuals and groups who ‘strive to protect and promote human rights relating to the environment.’  They come from many different backgrounds and work in different ways. Some are lawyers or journalists, but many are ‘ordinary people living in remote villages, forests or mountains, who may not even be aware that they are acting as environmental human rights defenders.’ In many cases, they are representatives of indigenous peoples and traditional communities whose lands and ways of life are threatened by large projects such as dams, logging, mining or oil extraction.

Central African Republic: Detain War Crimes Suspect Now

(Nairobi) – The Central African Republic government should coordinate with United Nations peacekeepers to ensure that war crimes suspect Hassan Bouba, who was released from detention in defiance of court orders and escorted home by national gendarmes on November 26, 2021, is returned to custody, Human Rights Watch said today.