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Resources for Good Practice
Update September 2012
Member Care in Mission/Aid
Mental Health as Mission
Stay updated with key member care resources for your work in mission/aid.
Spread the word—share this Update with your colleagues and networks.
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This issue highlights new opportunities for the member care field to expand its influence on behalf of humanity. It focuses on integrating mental health approaches into the work of member care, and beyond. We call it "mental health as mission" (mhM). The Update includes two sets of mhM resources each with a great introductory video. The first set lists five items for getting a broad overview of mental health globally. The second set lists five items to further equip workers in mental health. These resources can really help the member care field and the mission/aid sector as it further enters into the crucial area of mhM. Humanity is waiting!
Note: Wondering about mhM's relevance for member care and mission/aid?
See the Final Thoughts section at the end of this Update.
Warm greetings from Geneva,
Kelly and Michèle O’Donnell
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mhM Area One: Understanding the Issues
1. Mental Health Overview
(World Health Organisation, 2009). Get the big picture. This video presents some of the main statistics for mental illness/conditions and strategies for improving global mental health (five minutes).
Poppy field outside Geneva, from the GMH-Map website.
2. Global Mental Health-Map
This new website is a collaborative project initiated by Member Care Associates. It helps you connect to key resources and news for global mental health (GMH). Foundational for the initial site content is the recent article on GMH, "A Resource Primer for Exploring the Domain" (available on the site, International Perspectives in Psychology, July 2011).
3. GMH: Finding Your Niches and Networks
Explore how you fit. This short article includes core resources for understanding GMH, arranged into 10 areas. Psychology International, March 2012)
4. Depression: A Global Crisis (World Mental Health Day 2012)
The 10th of October each year marks a special day to promote greater public awareness and understanding of mental health and mental conditions. Every year thousands of people across the world hold events, share information, and raise funds for mental health causes (organised by the World Federation for Mental Health). The above link includes an overview and materials for this year's theme of depression.
5. Global Burden of Mental Disorders and the Need for a Comprehensive, Coordinated Response from Health and Social Sectors at the Country Level
(World Health Organisation, May 2012). This landmark Resolution is part of the latest macro efforts to improve mental health globally (3.5 pages). Initiated and approved by WHO member states (countries), it is a resolute international call by governments to deal with the massive mental health problems and their causes. Currently WHO is working on the Implementation Plan for the Resolution.
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mhM Area Two: Equipping the Workers
1. Trauma and Peace in Afghanistan
(TED Talk by Inge Missmahl, 2010). Watch this popular video about how mental health and psychosocial support are provided in primary health care settings for communities in war-ravaged Afghanistan. (11 minutes)
2. Where There Is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual
(Vikram Patel, 2003, with many translations). A classic, easy-to use text describing over 30 clinical mental health issues and emphasising problem-solving approaches to guide helpers in assessment and management.
3. Psychological First Aid: A Guide for Field Workers
(World Health Organisation, World Vision International, War Trauma Foundation, 2011). A guide for providing basic psychological support by aid workers and others responding in crisis and emergency settings. The material is presented in simple language and includes three case scenarios with helper interventions/dialogues--natural disaster, violence and displacement, and road accident. Note: See also the 12-hour Mental Health First Aid course, offered in 15 countries.
4. Community-Based Psychosocial Support: A Training Kit
(International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2009). These training materials are derived from years of experience by the IFRC. They include written, power point, CD, and internet resources that can be used as a package or as specific modules for providing training in psychosocial support.. Topics include crisis events, stress and coping, loss and grief, community-based support, psychological first aid, children, supporting volunteers/staff. Note: See also the new Caring for Volunteers: A Psychosocial Support Toolkit.
5. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Network. This Network "is a growing global platform for connecting people, networks and organisations, for sharing resources and for building knowledge related to mental health and psychosocial support both in emergency settings and in situations of adversity." It aspires "to building and shaping good practice in support of people affected by difficult events or circumstances." (quotes from homepage of the website)
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Final Thoughts
The moral argument below for prioritising mental health
is as relevant for the international mission/aid sector as it is fo the "international public health" sector.
“The global burden of disease attributable to mental, neurological, and substance use disorders is expected to rise from 12.3% in 2000 to 14.7% in 2020 (1). This rise will be particularly sharp in developing countries. Research has documented the socioeconomic determinants of many disorders, the profound impact on the lives of those affected and their families, and the lack of appropriate care in developing countries. The enormous gap between mental health needs and the services in developing countries has been documented in international reports, culminating in the World Health Report 2001(2). This evidence has increased the profile of international mental health, but action still remains limited. With every new public health challenge, mental health is once more relegated to the background. We argue that moral arguments are just as important as evidence to make the case for mental health intervention. At the center of these moral arguments is the need to reclaim the place of mental health at the heart of international public health.” (Beyond Evidence: The Moral Case for International Mental Health; Patel, Saraceno, Kleinman, American Journal of Psychiatry, 138:8, August 2006, pp. 1312-1315)
Here are some more thoughts about how mhM is relevant for member care and mission/aid.
Also see the additional perspectives on our Core Member Care weblog (mhM/GMH entries).
mhM extends member care's core emphasis of wellbeing/effectiveness for mission/aid workers and embodies the joint efforts to serve humanity via supportive resources in the mental health sciences/disciplines. It involves increasing mhM awareness and skills for four groups of people: member care workers, mission/aid workers, health care workers, and the people and communities that are the focus of mission/aid and health care workers (including vulnerable populations: the poor, those with minimal access to health resources, settings of conflict/calamity).
One of the main applications of mhM is to further equip/support mission/aid workers who themselves are helping people/communities in areas like domestic violence, depression, substance abuse, traumatic stress, and emergency settings. Another application involves trained member care workers and health workers who provide and develop direct services for people/communities needing mental health and psychosocial support.
mhM is quite a frontier too for mission/aid, especially since mental conditions are largely untreated among the poor, and there are lots of poor among Unreached People Groups of course. For example, currently the World Health Organisation estimates that 450 million people suffer from mental, neurological, or substance abuse conditions (MNS)--with about 75% going untreated in low to middle income countries. Further, one in four humans will likely experience some type of serious MNS condition during their lifetime. The ripple effects of course are considerable especially when people with MNS conditions are not treated (as well as stigmatized and discriminated against), and also affecting friends, family members, finances, communities, the economy, etc, Could the church's involvement in mission/aid thus also increasingly embrace the need to practically help (love) those with MNS conditions?
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