The Mental Health in Complex Emergencies course is designed for professionals in mental health and social work, staff in humanitarian health and protection programs and volunteers who wish to learn about establishing programs for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian emergencies such as conflict, post conflict, and disaster settings, and with refugees or internally displaced populations.
This course will provide practical orientation and training on a range of topics such as conducting rapid assessments, designing and setting up MHPSS programs, coordinating them and the basics of monitoring and evaluation. Significant attention will be dedicated to therapeutic approaches to mental health conditions in adults and children in humanitarian contexts. Other topics include the issues of cultural validity and cultural change, conflict resolution and negotiation. Potential field workers will be introduced to essentials such as personal security, logistics, taking care of oneself and how to cope with the stresses of humanitarian work, and other practical aspects of humanitarian work in the field.
The course will also explore the evolving nature of humanitarian emergencies and the challenges they raise, including the growing numbers of forcibly displaced people, the problems created by (chronic) conflict, and emerging threats posed by pandemics, and the climate and ecological emergencies.
An important feature of the course is that it provides a space for learning from seasoned lecturers/practitioners and from other students, many of whom bring unique experiences and insights from all corners of the world.
After the course, students will have an increased understanding of mental health and psychosocial needs and interventions in complex emergencies. They will also have an overview of important guidance documents, key issues, and debates within the field. They will have been introduced to the key capacities required for establishing MHPSS activities in the field and had a chance to critically reflect on their own role as a humanitarian actor.
The expected time investment for this course is 5 hours per week.
Sample course topics outline:
Week 1: The humanitarian context
Week 2: Mental health and psychosocial support: consensus and pragmatism
Week 3: Setting up mental health and psychosocial programs in Emergencies
Week 4: Community-Based MHPSS programming and SGBV
Week 5: Child-focused MHPSS programming
Week 6: Clinical issues 1: Grief and loss
Week 7: Clinical issues 2: Normal and abnormal stress reactions
Week 8: Basic psychosocial skills/ stress management/ psychological first aid
Week 9: Clinical issues 3: Severe mental disorders and epilepsy
Week 10: Clinical issues 4: Common mental disorders and substance abuse
Week 11: Security and risk assessment & Taking care of ourselves
Week 12: Assessment, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning
Week 13: Context & cultural issues
Week 14: Human rights and conflict: Disability inclusion in humanitarian action and MHPSS
Week 15: Wrap up and discussion of outstanding topics
COURSE DIRECTORS
Marcio Gagliato, PhD.
Humanitarian Response, Mental Health, Protection & Psychosocial Support Specialist. Director (Operations), Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Network – MHPSS.net
Larry Hollingworth CBE
Humanitarian Programs Director, Center for International Humanitarian Cooperation (CIHC) Visiting Professor, Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), Fordham University
Lynne Jones OBE, FRCPsych. PhD.
Visiting scientist, FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, Harvard University School of Public Health, Honorary Consultant at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Cornwall Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust
Willem van de Put
Co-founder of MHCE, founder and director of Culture for Change (C4C) Research fellow at Fordham University
Scientific expert at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
Peter Ventevogel, MD, PhD.
Senior Mental Health Officer, Division of Resilience & Solutions, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Claire Whitney, MIA, LICSW
Senior Global Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Advisor Technical Unit, International Medical Corps
This course is organized by the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs of Fordham University, in collaboration with the Center for International Humanitarian Cooperation (CIHC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Culture4Change, and the International Medical Corps.
How to register:
To apply to an Online Humanitarian Training Course:
- Create an application
- Select "Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs"
- Select Online Humanitarian Training Course
- Select credit option
- Select online course or courses
