MENTAL HEALTH

to protect or promote

psychosocial well-being and/or prevent or treat mental disorder.

mental health and psychosocial support

serves to

unite as broad a group of actors as possible and underscores the need for

diverse, complementary approaches in providing appropriate supports.

mental health and psychosocial support

refers to the dynamic relationship between the

psychological and social dimension of a person, where the one influences

the other.

psychosocial

includes internal, emotional and

thought processes, feelings and reactions.

psychological dimension

includes relationships, family and community networks,

social values and cultural practices.

social dimension

major event outside the range of ordinary

everyday experience that is extremely threatening to those involved,

accompanied by feelings of powerlessness, horror or terror.

crisis event

is any sudden

interruption of the normal

course of events in the life

of an individual or a

society that makes re-

evaluation of modes of

action and thought

necessary.

crisis

give example of crisis events

Accidents

Acts of violence

Suicide

Natural Disasters

Manmade Disasters

A number of characteristics can influence the psychosocial impact of a crisis event, depending on

origin of the event and its scope and duration.

A person’s ability to cope with challenges and difficulties, and to restore

and maintain a new balance when the old one is challenged or destroyed.

often described as the ability to ‘bounce back’.

Resilience

They reduce the likelihood of severe

psychological effects when encountering hardship or suffering.

protective factors.

People’s well-being is protected through meeting

their basic needs and rights for security, governance,

and essential serv ices such as food, clean water,

health care and shelter.

Basic services and security

A smaller number of people may need to be helped in accessing key

community and family supports. Due to the disruption usually

experienced in emergencies, family and community networks may be

broken.

Community and family supports

At the top of the pyramid is additional support for the small percentage

of the population whose condition, despite the supports mentioned

already, is intolerable and who may have great difficulties in basic daily

functioning

Specialized services

A still smaller number of people will in addition require supports that are

more directly focused on psychosocial well being. This might be

individual, family or group interventions, typically carried out by trained

and supervised workers.

Focused supports

Characteristics of volunteers and staff providing

psychosocial support

trustworthiness, approachability,

patience, kindness and

commitment.
Helpers must have

good listening skills, a caring

attitude, and a non-judgmental

approach.

normal response to a physical or emotional challenge and occurs when demands are out of

balance with resources for coping.

Stress

Challenges in life which keep us alert and, on our toes, and without which life for many people

becomes dull and ultimately not worth living.

Day to day stress (baseline)

Occurs when the sources of stress continue over time and interferes with regular patterns of living.

Cumulative stress (strain)

Situations where individuals are unable to meet the demands upon them and suffer physical or

psychological breakdown.

Critical stress (shock)

A biological response created by outside events whereby the ability to react is paralyzed or frozen.

Shock

mechanical actions and the affected will have difficulties in understanding

apathy

They may have difficulty in believing what has

happened to them and those around them. In the days that follow, some people may feel confused, distressed, fearful, or

numb.

extreme stress

unpleasant emotional state

characterized by distress, uneasiness and

nervousness. fear by being without a focus as

fear assumes a specific feared object.

anxiety

A state characterized by a sense of inadequacy,

hopelessness and helplessness, passivity,

pessimism, chronic sadness and related

symptoms. The condition is often linked to

severe loss.

Depression

The condition is characterized by three groups of symptoms: Post-traumatic stress disorder

Re-experiencing the event

Avoidance of reminders of the event and;

Symptoms of increased arousal such as nervousness, sleep-related problems, stomach

problems and difficulties concentrating.

is the process of adapting to a new life situation, managing difficult circumstances, making an

effort to solve problems, seeking to minimize, reduce or tolerate stress or conflict.

Coping

behaviour includes reaching out to others for help, actively working to find a

solution or eliminating the source of stress.

heathy coping

behaviour includes ignoring a threat or denying its effect, avoiding the

source of stress, going into isolation, letting frustration out on others, self-medication, and

taking other security and health risks in order to function normally.

Unhealthy coping

A defense mechanism, denying feelings, wishes, needs or thoughts in order to avoid

anxiety.

denial

A process whereby thoughts, reactions, emotions become separated from the

rest of the personality: those affected seem not to realize what is happening to them and around

them.

disassociation

Protect individuals in shock from bystanders. Provide warmth, food and clothing, and treatment of

injuries.

Keep a primary focus on physical care and protection:

It is helpful to stay close, remain calm and adopt a reassuring attitude. Let individuals know that

they can trust you.

Stay close

Reassure them that their reactions are normal and that communication difficulties, physical

problems etc. can be expected in the aftermath of a crisis event. Do not give false assurances,

but remain honest and realistic.

Provide comfort and reassurance:

People have an urgent need for information in a crisis. It is very helpful to know precisely what has

happened and why and what is likely to happen next.

Provide information

Help people to do any practical activity that seems appealing to them. Activities help people let go of

difficult thoughts and give some respite from the difficulties that may lie ahead.

Help people to do activities:

Where there are no immediate solutions to problems, it can sometimes help people to focus on ‘emotional

adaptation’. The idea is to help the person accept certain losses, so that he or she can move forward.

Help people to see different perspectives