Hats off to Kelly and Michele O’Donnell for sharing these resources with the world this past week regarding how to help a migrant/refugee deal with displacement and all the swirl of mental, emotional, and trauma issues that surround them:
1. From the World Health Organization…
Free Humanitarian Intervention Guide (book download)
http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/mhgap_hig/en/
Building Back Better: Sustainable mental health care after emergencies (another free book download)
http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/building_back_better/en/
Psychological First Aid: Guide for Field Workers
http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/guide_field_workers/en/
2. From the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (examples)
–Culture, Context, and the Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-being of Syrian Refugees (2015)
http://mhinnovation.net/sites/default/files/downloads/resource/Culture%2C%20Context%20and%20the%20Mental%20Health%20and%20Psychosocial%20Wellbeing%20of%20Syrians.pdf
–UNHCR Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Persons of Concern (2013)
http://www.unhcr.org/51bec3359.pdf
–UNHCR Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Staff (2013)
http://www.unhcr.org/51f67bdc9.pdf
3. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (examples)
–IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and {psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (2007, in various languages, and foundational for many other materials from IASC)
http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/product-categories/mental-health-and-psychosocial-support
4. American Psychological Association (examples)
–Immigration section on the website: contains several resources including Working with Immigrant-Origin Clients (2013) and Crossroads: The Psychology of Immigration in the New Century (2011).
http://www.apa.org/topics/immigration/
This is Kelly and Michele at their best, curating a world full of content into three free guides for the globe — so we can do our jobs better. Thank you O’Donnells! (See their Oct. 2015 Resource Update at
http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e83a5528fb81b78be71f78079&id=d8b8495f3b
Not ignorant of the mess migrants/refugees must deal with (I have spent days at a time ministering in refugee camps.) and not diminishing from what Kelly has posted, I would add one resource to that masterful list of UN-type material: The BIBLE!