 Global Integration UpdatesCommon Ground for the Common Good
Special News--August 2018Where There Is No PsychiatristMental Health Resources Across the Sectors Despite the fact that there are hundreds of millions of people experiencing a mental, neurological, or substance use condition, the attention paid to these conditions has been scant historically. Even in high income countries only 35-50% of the people with severe mental disorders receive treatment, and in low income countries the vast majority, typically 76-85%, receive little or no effective care….Further, the extreme neglect, human rights abuse, and social exclusion of people with mental illness means that they could be seen as the epitome of people who are “left behind.”Global Mental Health: Collaborating Across Sectors...(2017) In this Special News Update we share five resources to further inform colleagues across sectors about mental health issues and resources. The featured resource is the second edition of Where There Is No Psychiatrist (2018). It is oriented primarily for general health workers in low resource settings yet is instructive for those in other sectors as well.
The other resources include two mental health intervention guides for non-specialized settings and in humanitarian settings (World Health Organization), integrating mental health and health services in humanitarian settings (International Medical Corps), and an overview article on Global Mental Health to orient colleagues across sectors.
There is no health without mental health!
Warm greetings from Geneva,
Kelly and Michèle   Share your comments and resources on our Facebook page
Featured ResourceWhere There Is No PsychiatristA Mental Health Care Manual"Mental health problems are common, occurring in all societies and in all social classes, and across the life course....We have tried to communicate complex issues in everyday language, with the goal of being able to demonstrate the diversity of mental health problems and their prevention and management in routine care settings in an accessible style." (Preface, xi, xiii) Where There is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual (second edition, 2018), Vikram Patel and Charlotte Hanlon.
--"Who is this manual for? This manual has been written to meet the needs of the general health worker. This broad term includes anyone who works in a health care or community setting, and is not specially trained to work with persons with mental health problems. Thus, the manual can be used by the community health worker, the primary care nurse, the midwife, the social worker and the family doctor. This diverse group will have different levels of training and skills. However, they all often have in common a low level of awareness about mental health problems and their treatments....." (Preface, xi)
--"Where will this manual be most useful? Given that all societies face similar mental health problems, the manual should be of use anywhere in the world. But the manual has been designed specifically to meet the needs of health workers in low- and middle-income countries and in low resourced settings of high-income countries. Even though this scope includes nations and societies which are very diverse, there are many features that they share which make this manual applicable to them all. These settings are characterised by relatively few mental health workers and higher levels of social disadvantage. The few mental health specialists who are available are mostly based in cities and spend most of their time caring for those with severe mental disorders in psychiatric institutions or private practices." (Preface, xi)
More ResourcesmhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide: Clinical Management of Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Conditioings in Non-Specialized Health Settings (version 2.0, 2016), World Health Organization. This Guide “is for use by doctors, nurses, other health workers as well as health planners and managers. [It] presents the integrated management of priority [Mental Neurological, and Substance Use] conditions using algorithms for clinical decision making. This update of the 2010 edition is based on new evidence as well as extensive feedback and recommendations from experts in all WHO regions who have used mhGAP-IG Version 1.0. The key updates include: content update in various sections based on new evidence; design changes for enhanced usability; a streamlined and simplified clinical assessment that includes an algorithm for follow-up; inclusion of two new modules - Essential Care and Practice that includes general guidelines and Implementation module to support the proposed interventions by necessary infrastructure and resources; and, revised modules for Psychoses, Child and Adolescent Mental and Behavioural Disorders and Disorders due to Substance Use. The mhGAP-IG Version 2.0 is a valuable tool to scale up services for people with MNS conditions and their families.” (quote from website)
Toolkit for the Integration of Mental Health into General Healthcare in Humanitarian Settings (2018), International Medical Corps. “Integration of Mental Health into General Health Care is not an event, it is a stepwise, long-term process which takes time and varies depending on the context and available resources. This Toolkit aims to support the understanding and implementation of integrated mental health programs in humanitarian settings. It provides a framework for essential steps and components, with associated key guidance and resources,that strengthen the integration process, and is primarily intended for (1) implementing agencies, but may also be useful for (2) donors, and (3) government actors. Users can access the three steps [assessment and plan, build capacity strengthen services and systems], & three cross cutting components relevant to current program needs, or stages of programming. An additional section of the toolkit includes resources that provide General Guidance which is foundational to the toolkit.” (from website)
mhGAP Humanitarian Intervention Guide: Clinical Management of Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Conditions in Humanitarian Emergencies (2015), World Health Organization. This Guide “contains first-line management recommendations for mental, neurological and substance use conditions for non-specialist health-care providers in humanitarian emergencies where access to specialists and treatment options is limited. It is a simple, practical tool that aims to support general health facilities in areas affected by humanitarian emergencies in assessing and managing acute stress, grief, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, epilepsy, intellectual disability, harmful substance use and risk of suicide. This new tool is an adaptation of WHO’s mhGAP Intervention Guide, a widely-used evidence-based manual for the management of these conditions in non-specialized health settings.” (quote from website)Global Mental Health: Collaborating Across Sectors for Sustainable Development and Wellbeing (June 2017), Medicus Mundi Switzerland, Bulletin, Kelly O’Donnell and Julian Eaton. “This article orients colleagues across sectors to Global Mental Health (GMH) and its relevance for the collective efforts to promote sustainable development and wellbeing. The authors include examples of GMH resources organized into 10 areas of “GMH Engagement” [e.g., overviews, human rights, networks, training, advocacy. media]. Colleagues are encouraged to connect and contribute to GMH as they consider the application of the materials featured in this article for their work.” (abstract)
Note: 10 October is World Mental Health Day 2018. The theme this year is Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World.
Member Care Associates Inc. (MCA) is a non-profit, Christian organisation working internationally from Geneva and the USA. MCA's involvement in Global Integration focuses on the wellbeing and effectiveness of personnel and their organizations in the mission, humanitarian, and development sectors as well as global mental health, all with a view towards supporting sustainable development for all people and the planet. Our services include consultation, training, research, developing resources, and publications.
Global Integration is a framework for actively integrating our lives with global realities by connecting relationally and contributing relevantly on behalf of human wellbeing and the issues facing humanity, in light of our integrity and core values (e.g., ethical, humanitarian, human rights, faith-based). |
|
|
|
