Mental Health in Complex Emergencies Course Syllabus

Mental Health in Complex Emergencies (MHCE 16) Online Course Program August 26, 2020 - December 18, 2020 The Mental health in Complex Emergencies course is designed to introduce students and prac7cing interven7onists to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian se?ngs. Some mental health and psychosocial professionals are unfamiliar with humanitarian se?ngs and do not know how to adapt or provide MHPSS services in these contexts. It is also important for general humanitarian workers because the manner in which humanitarian assistance is delivered in the different sectors such as health, educa7on, nutri7on, shelter, WASH and protec7on has a profound impact on the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of the affected popula7ons. The purpose of this course is to introduce both MHPSS professionals and humanitarian actors across all sectors to the best prac7ces and ongoing discourses in providing MHPSS in relief se?ngs.

Course learning objecEves: 1. Develop capacity of professionals in mental health or psychosocial work to deliver effec7ve humanitarian MHPSS ac7vi7es;.

2. Develop capacity of humanitarian professionals in all sectors of the humanitarian response (health, protec7on, educa7on, shelter, WASH etc.) to integrate MHPSS approaches and aspects into their work.

3. The course will allow students to increase their understanding of: • The humanitarian context, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in various se?ngs; • The underlying principles and frameworks (established by interna7onal consensus) for establishing MHPSS programs in emergencies; • Key clinical mental health issues; • Key protec7on and community issues; • Coordina7on and implementa7on of assessment, monitoring and evalua7ng aspects of programs; • Assess risks, address security issues, and understand the importance of self-care.

The course will also provide the opportunity to share case studies from students’ own prac7cal experiences of MHPSS programs, to learn from other students and par7cipate in debates around humanitarian ac7on.

Through this course, students will be made familiar with the most recent academic thought on MHPSS as well as learn from the experiences of field prac77oners in designing and implemen7ng MHPSS programs in complex emergencies. Students are sensi7zed to the non-material, social aspects of humanitarian assistance and will be able to take into account the psychosocial context when planning humanitarian assistance.

This online training course is part of a blended learning course. An in-person course of five days will be organized early 2021. The online and in-person course have strong synergies. Par7cipants for the five-day inperson course should have aXended either this or an earlier MHCE course. The in-person course will begin with two days of discussion and debate and classroom exercises drawing on lessons learned in the Online course.

Students will then choose one of the following three-day workshops according to their par7cular interests: 2546 Belmont Ave | Bronx, NY 10458 | www.fordham.edu/iiha | iiha@fordham.edu | +1 718-817-5694

• • • • •

Training of trainers in MHPSS Interpersonal Therapy for Depression Child focused MHPSS programming Contexts and culture Other op7ons based on demand.

COURSE DIRECTORS: Larry Hollingworth CBE Humanitarian Programs Director, Center for Interna7onal Humanitarian Coopera7on (CIHC) Visi7ng Professor, Ins7tute of Interna7onal Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), Fordham University Lynne Jones OBE, FRCPsych. PhD. Visi7ng scien7st, FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, Harvard University School of Public Health, Honorary Consultant at South London and Maudsley NHS Founda7on Trust and Cornwall Partnership NHS Founda7on Trust Willem van de Put Co-founder of MHCE, founder and director of Culture for Change (C4C) Research fellow at Fordham University Scien7fic expert at the Ins7tute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp Peter Ventevogel, MD, PhD. Senior Mental Health Officer, Division of Resilience & Solu7ons, United Na7ons High Commissioner for Refugees

COURSE APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION INQUIRIES: Ellen BraEna, InternaEonal Programs Coordinator Ins7tute of Interna7onal Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), Fordham University Email: miha@fordham.edu COURSE ADMINISTRATION: Course Administrator Ins7tute of Interna7onal Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA), Fordham University

2546 Belmont Ave | Bronx, NY 10458 | www.fordham.edu/iiha | iiha@fordham.edu | +1 718-817-5694

DRAFT SYLLLABUS AND TOPICS COVERED IN EACH MODULE 0

OrientaEon and kick-off

1. What is this course about and how is it organized?

1

The humanitarian context

1. What cons7tutes a complex emergency?

2. How do humanitarian se?ngs vary across the globe and in different 7me periods?

3. How are humanitarian responses organized?

4. What are the present challenges to the tradi7onal concept of ‘humanitarian enterprise’?

2

Mental health and psychosocial support: consensus and pragmaEsm

1. What are the IASC Guidelines for MHPSS in Emergency Se?ngs and other frameworks for establishing programs?

2. Why do we need coordina7on and collabora7on?

3. Why is MHPSS a cross cu?ng issue?

3

Se`ng up mental health and psychosocial programs in Emergencies

1.

2.

3.

4.

4

Community-Based MHPSS programming and SGBV

1. What do we mean by community-based MHPSS programs?

2. What is community-based protec7on and how does it relate to MHPSS? 3. What are the differences between extending clinical services to the field and mobilizing a community towards healing behavior?

4. What are the links between MHPSS and programs for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) preven7on and response?

5

Child-focused MHPSS programming

1. What are the main issues in se?ng up child-focused programs in emergencies?

2. Examples of child-focused programs

6

Clinical issues 1

1. What is the significance of loss and grief in complex emergencies?

2. Why is mourning important across cultures?

3. How do we assist grieving people in contexts where normal mourning is obstructed?

Grief and loss

7

8

Clinical issues 2

What are the main components of MHPSS programs?

How to assess needs and set priori7es?

How do MHPSS programs vary across contexts?

What is the mhGAP approach to integra7ng MH into primary care?

Normal and abnormal stress reac7ons

1. What are the likely stresses in humanitarian work?

2. How do you recognize and dis7nguish normal and abnormal stress reac7ons including PTSD? 3. How can one address and mi7gate them?

Basic psychosocial skills/ stress management/ psychological first aid/

1. How do we build on our innate capacity to help others?

2. What are basic psychosocial skills?

3. What is psychological first aid?

2546 Belmont Ave | Bronx, NY 10458 | www.fordham.edu/iiha | iiha@fordham.edu | +1 718-817-5694

9

Clinical issues 3 Severe mental disorders and epilepsy

10

Clinical issues 4 Common mental disorders and substance abuse

11

Security and risk assessment & Taking care of ourselves

1. What are the main clinical issues regarding severe mental disorders in humanitarian se?ngs?

2. What are the best treatment and management approaches?

3. How can severe mental disorders such as psychosis, bipolar disorder be recognized and managed?

4. What is epilepsy and why is it included in MHPSS work?

1. What are the main clinical issues regarding common mental disorders in humanitarian se?ngs?

2. What are the best treatment and management approaches?

3. What are scalable psychological interven7ons and what are the differences between them?

4. How can programs for substance use best be set up?

1. What are the main security risks in complex emergencies?

2. How do we prepare for them and prevent harm?

3. What are the risks and consequences of burn out and selfneglect?

4. How do we recognize, prevent, mi7gate, and address problems in self and others?

12

Assessment, Monitoring, EvaluaEon, Accountability and Learning

1. What are the best approaches for MHPSS assessment in the field ?

2. How do we monitor and evaluate programs?

3. What are ethical issues around M&E?

13

Context & cultural issues

1. What aspects of different contexts are important for programming – how do issues as culture, socio-economic condi7ons, conflict, language and governance play out?

2. What is the connec7on between these issues in the popula7on in distress and ourselves?

3. How do we can we understand and effec7vely address these differences?

14

Human rights and conflict

1. What is the debate about the universality of human rights?

2. How can a ‘right-based approach’ be implemented in different cultures and legal systems – in rela7on to gender, agency and a systemic approach?

3. What is disability inclusion and how does it relate to MHPSS programming? What are conceptual differences?

Disability inclusion in humanitarian ac7on and MHPSS

15

Wrap up and discussion of outstanding

1. Q &A with the course directors 2. Discussion on selected emerging issues related to MHPSS 3. Presenta7ons of course par7cipants 4. What have we learned and how will we use it in our daily work?

2546 Belmont Ave | Bronx, NY 10458 | www.fordham.edu/iiha | iiha@fordham.edu | +1 718-817-5694

2546 Belmont Ave | Bronx, NY 10458 | www.fordham.edu/iiha | iiha@fordham.edu | +1 718-817-5694