Mental Health Support is Critical in Humanitarian Settings | Teachers College Columbia University

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TC Student: Mental Health Support is Critical in Humanitarian Settings

Cemile Ceren Sönmez, Research Assistant at the Global Mental Health Lab
Cemile Ceren Sönmez, Research Assistant at the Global Mental Health Lab
"Mental health problems are highly prevalent, debilitating, and closely linked to physical health problems, and consequently, critical contributors to the global burden of disease," Cemile Ceren Sönmez, a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology, writes on the Psychology Today website.

"The impact of mental health problems is even more pronounced in complex emergencies and other humanitarian settings," and the combination of effective mental health interventions with comprehensive health care is "urgently needed" in situations where humanitarian aid is called for.

To meet the need for mental as well as physical health care in situations of humanitarian need, the Global Mental Health Lab at Teachers College, where Sönmez is a research assistant, has launched several initiatives focusing on training and knowledge-sharing of evidence-based practices for Common Mental Disorders around the globe.

These initiatives are designed to provide mental health specialists and non-specialists with "practical, feasible and locally acceptable tools while maintaining a vision to gradually develop regional hubs where professionals can continue supporting each other’s work through self-sustaining 'learning collaboratives',” Sönmez writes.

The Global Mental Health Lab is directed by Lena Verdeli, associate professor of clinical psychology and education.

To read the piece, go here.

Published Wednesday, Oct 26, 2016