Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies

A Podcast about the emergence and development of approaches to mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings.

In Northen Uganda refugees are given access to land in order to cultivate their own crops in community gardens placed in refugee settlements. This provides essential food but it also gives them the sense of purpose back in their lives and helps them process their trauma.

In addition to addressing severe mental distress in individuals, with medication or one-on one sessions with a psychologist, psychosocial support addresses the less severe situations with group sessions as well as training and information to communities and families. The approach to mental distress has gained traction in the last decade but what are the benefits? What do psychosocial programs look like in practice and what does research say about what works and what the focus for the next 10 years should be?

Your host Siri Tellier has lead a course on Health in Emergencies at University of Copenhagen for 10 years and has more than 50 years of experience in Global Health. In this series she looks back at her own experiences as Director of Danish Red Cross International Department from 1992-2001 and try to better understand them in the light of practice today.