Innovation details
The conflict situation affecting the Syrian population has over time become a continuous process of multiple exposure to trauma, displacements and has disrupted the environment for psycho-social well-being. Many children and adolescents exhibit symptoms of mental distress, 20% of children and adolescents suffer from disabling mental illness, 1 out of 10 need professional help2. In addition, approximately 50% of all neuro-psychiatric disorders in adults have an onset before the age of 14, while the access to mental health services remains scarce2. Therefore, there is a huge need to provide services for general population, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the returnees.
The goal of the current project is to enhance MHPSS services at community level through family well-being centers established at the heart of the community and where MHPSS services are most needed.
Family wellbeing centers structure:
The project consists of two main categories:
- The family wellbeing center that hosts the family friendly space
- The mobile teams tailored according to the partner's capacity and the prior assessed needs of the hosting community
Family Friendly space
It lies at the heart of the family well-being center, with the aim to provide MHPSS service to the whole family as a unit instead of focusing on one individual and to strengthen the resilience in the whole family.
The "Family-focused-approach" is situated within the community centers run by the NGOs that WHO is supporting. It aims to contextualize the delivery of fully integrated services where MHPSS is not a stand-alone programme operating outside other emergency responses according to IASC 2007 guidelines. Family counselling in emergency settings, and family communication techniques, are conducted for the project’s committed workers consistently with the emerging of the supportive supervision. Services include:
- MHPSS for people with mental health and psychosocial conditions as well as victims of domestic violence and GBV survivors at the community level through evidence-based interventions and best practice in the field of MHPSS
- Vocational activities designed to reduce psychological distress and encourage well-being. These services are linked between mental health and other components, with capacity to integrate into general health training. With an additional vocational capacity building component, the project aims to support the next stages of health services extension by investing in and strengthening the necessary human resources throughout project timeline.
- General health services, including family consultations, psychiatric assessments and strengthening the linkage between public health and mental health services by mhGAP-trained doctors