Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Children in Humanitarian Settings: A review of evidence and practice

This Report was developed in support of the Symposium on Children’s Mental Health and Well-being in Protracted Armed Conflicts, convened by UNICEF and the Government of the Netherlands in May 2015, and in planning for the development of guidance on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings.

This desk review is an effort towards providing practitioners with a review and update on effective practices and evidence in the field of MHPSS. It works in line with previous efforts and research that aim to link evidence and practice in the field of MHPSS. The report will further underline and support implementation of MHPSS activities in humanitarian settings, while emphasizing evidence and practice specific to children and youth in emergency settings. The following key messages and recommendations for MHPSS in humanitarian settings, identified in a review of the linkages between research and practice in the field, guide this report:

• Strengthen the evidence for MHPSS in humanitarian settings;
• Broaden outcomes aside from post-traumatic stress disorder and internalizing symptoms;
• Stimulate collaboration between researchers and practitioners;
• Reduce the gap between science and practice;
• Prioritize research in to the most commonly implemented MHPSS, especially those in the bottom half of the intervention pyramid;
• Dependent on assessed needs, make empirically supported MHPSS widely available;
• Adapt the randomized controlled trial design where necessary, and apply innovative research designs when randomized controlled trials are not feasible;
• Ensure and assess interventions for people with severe mental disorders; and
• Sustain MHPSS through their integration with national and local health, education, and social systems.