Psychosocial support

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World Mental Health Day: What does mental health at work mean when your work is helping people in a conflict zone?

In a region as vast and diverse at the Middle East and North Africa (often referred to as the MENA region), where political instability, economic hardship, and natural hazards often overlap, mental health is often the first casualty.Yetmental health and psychosocial support too often remains one of the least prioritized aspects of overall health. Even when it is recognized, it is often extremely challenging to pay adequate attention to this critical need given the pressures of daily work life. We talked to some ofour colleagues in the IFRC’s Beirut office, which oversees the MENA region, about the realities of maintaining their psychological well-being, even as conflict escalates around them.“In theory, the idea of ‘taking care of one's mental health’ or ‘disconnecting’ sounds simple. But in practice, especially in high-stress situations like those we face in the MENA region, it is incredibly difficult. The pressure to constantly be available, to support colleagues, to follow up on emergencies, and to manage personal stressors leaves little room for true disconnection.“Lebanon is a prime example of how complex and intertwined mental health struggles can be. IFRC staff are grappling with ongoing uncertainty,some of us are displaced, others are not sleeping;the emotional toll is high, and yet we cannot put our work on hold.The weight of expectations versus reality can feel overwhelming, and that strain only intensifies when compounded by the crises happening around us. How can we remain productive under these conditions? This is our main challenge right now.”Ibrahim Chaaya, IFRC MENA Staff Health Senior Officer“The problem with a lot of mental health tips is that they have been developed during peacetime, in peaceful situations, for people dealing with diverse stressful situations, but not war. You can disconnect from work, from a dispute you had with someone, from the news, but you cannot ask a person to disconnect when they are the news, when all they can hear is bombings and drones all day long.I cannot be asked to disconnect when an airstrike shakes my home, my bed and my heart every time I try to close my eyes and get some sleep.We should take a step back and rethink the mental health methods and tools we are using, perhaps we should make them more contextualized, realistic, and therefore effective."Rima El Basst, IFRC MENA Community Health Assistant“Honestly, I’m not okay. Physically, I’m fine, but I’m generally not okay. Sometimes I feel numb, sometimes I cry out of the blue, sometimes I just feel unreal. There’s a mix of emotions and I cannot put it into words. You can use all the tools and do all the therapy, but it’s impossible to disconnect and it’s extremely difficult to take care of one’s mental health.“There are constant feelings of guilt and anxiety. I’m even scared of sleeping and I cannot hear a loud sound anymore without thinking that it’s an airstrike. I’ve been trying to take care of myself by doing little things, like finding support in other people by talking to them, but it’s just not enough.”Yasmin Hakim, IFRC MENA Migration Senior Officer“As a Communications Officer in emergencies, I am constantly connected to crises that never end. The challenge isn’t just the intensity of our work, but how the inability to disconnect deeply affects our mental health.Our digital presence mirrors the urgency and chaos of the real world, with each notification, post, and message bringing us closer to the heart of disasters. The pressure to stay engaged 24/7 blurs the line between personal time and professional duty, leaving little room for recovery. While we’re dedicated to our work, the toll on our mental health is often unseen but deeply felt—a cost that’s hard to ignore in the face of constant crises.”Joanna Daou, IFRC MENA Communications OfficerLearn more about how IFRC works to protect the psychological well-being of staff, volunteers and people impacted by crisis.Mental health and psychosocial support/IFRCWorld Mental Health Day: By helping others, a young volunteer learned how to help herselfUruguayan Red Cross project sends life-saving message: the lives of young people cannot be left just to chance – suicide is preventable5 top tips on maintaining mental health from Red Cross first-respondersBreaking the silence: addressing mental health and fighting stigma in the aftermath of Ukraine's conflictEuropean Mental Health Week: The healing power of art helps people cope with the upheaval caused by conflict

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World Mental Health Day: By helping others, a young volunteer learned how to help herself

When Gunel Abbasova was a young student, she dreamed of doing something to help others. But for some time, conflict in her country kept from her realising those dreams.“Due to displacement from Aghdam, the conflict left many traces in my life: my unfinished dreams, my lost childhood, and my inability to pursue higher education,” she says. “Little Gunel had already grown up, but her dreams had not yet come true. I always thought that when I grew up, I would become a lawyer and help people in need.”But then Gunel discovered a new way to help others, as a volunteer with the Aghdam district branch of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society. Gunel explains that throughout these difficult experiences, the National Society gave her hope and helped her realise her potential.“Time passed, year after year, and I was losing hope,”she recalls. “However, when my hopes were nearly exhausted, I happened to meet a person who informed me about the Aghdam branch of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society and said there was a need for volunteers. He mentioned that I could be a part of this community's mission as a volunteer without financial compensation.“Normally, each of us expects some financial support in return for the work we do, even if it is small. But somehow, I didn't think about it for a second. I had already made my choice. I believed that I would find myself there, and indeed, I was not wrong.The Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society became the sun shining brightly on me after the rain..”Now Gunel is one of many volunteers helping to bring mental health and psychosocial support to people as part of a project supported financially by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the IFRC.The project is called “Bridging the Gap between Community Needs and Local Capacities and Capabilities of the Civil Society Actors in Azerbaijan” and it aims to strengthen the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) capacity of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society (AzRCS).The National Society soon became a place where she could develop her knowledge and skills. However, Gunel still felt that something was missing.“Years later, I had given up on the idea of studying, but I began to develop myself at the National Society. I visited many regions and cities, received training from professional and educated trainers, and increased my knowledge and skills.”“I started to feel happier. I participated in the distribution of humanitarian aid, provided first aid, met many people, and made friends. But there was still something missing. Sometimes I was very weak. Sometimes I ran away from situations as the fear of losing did not allow me to move forward.”“As I developed, I began to search for myself. Who am I? Where am I? Where should I be? I asked myself these questions all the time. One day they announced a new training. When I heard the name of the training, a spark arose in me. At that point in my life, I needed exactly that – mental health and psychosocial support training.”‘Now I have found myself’The mental health and psychosocial support field helped her fill the missing void in her life, made her understand herself better, become happier, and improve her relationships with people.“While attending training and participating in activities in this field, I better understood myself and my aspirations. Over the years, I reached a level where I could inform other people on this topic. As an AzRCS volunteer, I started working with children aged 5-12 in schools, conducting psychosocial sessions for them.Now I have found myself, and I know that it is impossible to be healthy without mental health. I can handle stress and take care of myself. I conduct awareness sessions for community members on this topic. If people are aware of their mental health, they can cope more easily with psychological issues and traumas. They realise that there is hope and light in their lives.”“I am stronger now. I want people to unite and support each other in difficult situations, just like we do at the National Society. I am very grateful to the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society and the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support team who helped me.”Learn more about how the IFRC and its member National Societies support people with mental health and psychosocial services.Mental health and psychosocial support at IFRC5 top tips on maintaining mental health from Red Cross first-responder volunteersUruguayan Red Cross project sends life-saving message: the lives of young people cannot be left just to chance – suicide is preventableBreaking the silence: addressing mental health and fighting stigma in the aftermath of Ukraine's conflictEuropean Mental Health Week: The healing power of art helps people cope with the upheaval caused by conflict

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Uruguayan Red Cross project sends life-saving message: the lives of young people cannot be left just to chance – suicide is preventable

Uruguay is known for being one of the smallest countries in South America. Its population is less than four million and, according to various studies, for being the happiest on the continent.In this context, one statistic has caught the attention of many people in the country: at least two people in Uruguay commit suicide every day. That means 823 Uruguayans take their own lives each year, a rate of 23 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. This is the third highest in the region, after Guyana and Suriname.The Uruguayan Red Cross has taken on this critical through the project “Una vida más que una posibilidad,” which offers practical tools to prevent suicide among teenagers and volunteers. The project name can be interpreted in several ways: Translated literally as ‘Life, more than a possibility’, it sends the message that suicide prevention is possible, if people are given the right tools. Just as important, it sends the message that suicide prevention, and life itself, is not something that we can just leave to chance.To find out more, IFRC Communications Officer Estefany Jiménez spoke to the project coordinator, Tatiana Linares, a specialist in clinical and health psychology.Jiménez: I would like to start by asking you how you started this process around such a stigmatized and often unspoken issue?Linares: The process started with an open call to all volunteers from the different branches of the Uruguayan Red Cross, and then we interviewed them to get to know and understand the situations they were going through.We started the process with 25 volunteers from eight branches and four people from the technical team of the National Youth Institute. We met people who were going through complex situations, who needed psychosocial support and who even had suicidal thoughts. Or they knew someone who had or was having suicidal thoughts at the time.With this group we ran three virtual workshops on suicide, emotional intelligence and psychological first aid. This was complemented by a face-to-face workshop focusing on the practical part of the training. It was very inspiring to see the commitment and willingness with which they joined the project.And how did this training process impact the mental health of the volunteers?It was a breakthrough, an opportunity for them to express their emotions openly, without judgement. I think it was very valuable for them to recognize and identify these emotions and then ask for help or support to deal with them.They also set up an active support network, a chat group where they kept in touch throughout the process. They wrote and messaged each other daily, offered support to the group and were very willing to look after each other. This created a caring network to support them in different situations.After this phase of training and supporting the volunteers, how was the process of working with the young people?After the theoretical and practical training, it was the volunteers themselves, with my guidance, who designed and facilitated the workshops for almost 150 teenagers from two high schools and a youth centre in the municipalities of Guichón, Paysandú and Mercedes.Each workshop consisted of three days of sessions organized in phases: phase one, ‘I know myself’; phase two, ‘I help myself’; and phase three, ‘I help others’.As a product of the process, the young participants developed and distributed messages based on what they would like to read to another young person going through a difficult situation. In the schools, they put them up in the bathrooms, at the entrances and in other places.Would you say that the project achieved what it set out to achieve or were the results very different from what you expected?The first great achievement and strength of the project is that we managed to connect with the young people and get them actively involved in suicide prevention. We also managed to ensure that our volunteers are now trained to work on this issue.Some of the volunteers who took part in the project have even decided to dedicate themselves to mental health initiatives, which we did not expect but we are very happy about.Tell us more about your work with adults. Have you also worked with older people at risk of suicide?It was more about people who were interested in joining prevention efforts. The community of Guichón asked for our support to address this issue with the families of the young people we were working with, but also with professionals in psychology and social work, religious leaders and other adults who work with or provide services to young people in their daily work.It was a very positive and challenging space that touched them in a very personal way. While their main motivation was to find a way to help a young person, they ended up sharing personal stories of suicidal thoughts.In these spaces we tried, with love, experience and knowledge, to break down the myths surrounding suicide: that it is hereditary, that we cannot prevent it, and so on. The result was so positive that they asked for more interventions.Suicide is surrounded by myths. Did this make the journey very challenging?Yes, one of the first challenges was to talk about it openly, because talking about suicide is taboo and people, even our volunteers, believed that talking about suicide encouraged it. Changing that belief is a huge challenge, but creating a group of volunteers who could do that was also a huge achievement.Learn more about IFRC’s efforts to promote psychological wellbeing in the communities we serve.How does the IFRC's promote psychological well-being in communities impacted by crisis or hardship?Visit the IFRC Psychosocial Centre.Is the threat of climate change impacting the mental health of people in impacted communities?

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European Mental Health Week: The healing power of art helps people cope with the upheaval caused by conflict

In the first few months after Svitlana arrived in Burgas, a city on Bulgaria's eastern Black Sea coast, she lived in a shelter and made money by playing violin on the streets.The former music teacher who fled conflict in Ukraine also received support from the Bulgarian Red Cross in the form of food, clothes and hygiene kits. Eventually, she found a job at the Burgas Opera House as a stage assistant.Now Svitlana is able to share her creative gifts in the form of music and art therapy sessions for other people impacted by the conflict in her homeland.“When people hear a song in their native language, from their homeland, it makes them feel better,” she says, adding that music and art – and the conversations it leads to – also help people feel more comfortable and integrated in their new communities.Svitlana’s music and art therapy sessions are just one of many examples of how Red Cross National Societies in Europe are using people’s inherent creativity to help them through a tumultuous and difficult time.A complimentary therapyIn a world where stress and anxiety are constant companions, expressive therapies that use the creative process have gained traction in recent years as a complement to traditional psychotherapy.Amidst the displacement crisis stemming from the conflict in Ukraine, Red Cross National Societies have stepped forward with a wide-range of innovative approaches to support the mental well-being of people forced to flee their homes.Spearheaded by the EU4Health programme, funded by the European Union's DG Sante project, this initiative aims to deliver crucial mental health and psychosocial support to people displaced from Ukraine.Representing one of the most substantial responses to mental health crises in emergencies within the Red Cross and Red Crescent family, the partnership between DG Sante and the IFRC has introduced diverse forms of art therapy tailored specifically to the needs of affected communities.These therapeutic interventions offer an avenue for people to articulate and process their experiences, facilitating a sense or healing and hope amidst the prevailing uncertainty.FriendshipThe Finnish Red Cross, for example, organized an event for Ukrainians under the theme of friendship. Surrounded by scraps of paper, markers, glue and other craft supplies, the children wrote messages on cards that they then shared with loved ones.In making the thank-you cards, they used words, drawing and pictures cut out of magazines to express their feelings. They also learned and wrote down some Finnish words, further encouraging a sense of belonging in their new communities. One child made a birthday card for his father. The event was defined by a spirit of happiness and togetherness.‘Personal growth’One local branch of the Portuguese RedCrossorganized a handicraft workshop specifically tailored for Ukrainian women. While children attended school or spent time at the Red Cross safe space, women make handicrafts that, at the same time, help them learn Portuguese, acquire new craft skills and feel more integrated in their new communities.Their participation not only facilitated skill development but also contributed to a boost in self-esteem. "It was a significant challenge for everyone involved, but it led to personal and professional growth," said one of the participants.What does happiness look like?One project organized by the Romanian Red Cross asked Ukrainian children at the Multicultural Humanity Centre to reveal on paper what happiness looks like to them. Using coloured pencils and a lot of imagination, the children opened their hearts."I am happy when I have my sister, my family and my stuffed toys by my side," nine-year-old Yeseniia wrote on her card.The art therapy offered by the Romanian Red Cross is just one part of a larger comprehensive approach that aims to meet the participants’ urgent and basic needs. This includes health services and psychosocial support, thematic workshops for children and parents, Romanian and English language courses, life skills activities, and hot meals.Back in Bulgaria, the music and art therapy sessions organized by Svitlana are also a chance for her to find comfort after a harrowing ordeal that forced her to leave her home in Dnipro, Ukraine.Svitlana remembers how her house was constantly trembling during the air raids. “I’m grateful to live under a peaceful sky,” Svetlana says.The content of this article is the sole responsibility of IFRC and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

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Ukraine: Helping people get back on their feet after severe injury

Across Ukraine, people deal with the daily reality of air alerts and fear. Areas remain under evacuation, and some people cannot return home.But in many parts of Ukraine, recovery has begun and it’s about more than the reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure. It’s about restoring people’s health, livelihoods and wellbeing.The Ukrainian Red Cross (URCS) contributed to the creation of the National Rehabilitation Center Unbroken in Lviv, where recovery comes in the form of treatment, rehabilitation, and in some cases prosthetics."In the time since the injury, I had already learned to cope with many things using just one arm,” says Valentin Anohin, a physical education teacher who lost his arm due to injury in the conflict. “But when I put on the prosthesis, I felt how much easier my daily routine became. Now I can do everything twice as fast."After five months of rehabilitation, Anohin realized his dream. Using the prosthetic, he successfully threw a basketball straight into the hoop.From fear to confidenceYana Kovalova lost her leg due after an explosion in her backyard in Donetsk. Found by neighbours, she was evacuated and had surgery before being stabilized and moving across Ukraine to the Unbroken centre."Physical therapists started working with me immediately here,” she says. “At first, I was afraid to even stumble on crutches – let alone climb stairs. But with each session, I feel more and more confident."Vyacheslav Aleksandrov‘s experience started with questions.“The first feelings after the injury were fear. What to do next? How will all this be?” he said, adding the process is different for everyone."My acquaintance, whose limb amputation was not high, started walking in just three weeks. For someone else, it's a complex and lengthy process, involving both group and individual work."“Psychological support is crucial."‘She really inspires me’With support from the IFRC and other partners, URCS look for new ways to engage and support people with disabilities. Red Cross also supports mental health at Unbroken.“We help them to stabilize their mental feelings. Sometimes they lose their houses or their relatives,” said Sofia Nevoyt, a psychotherapist at the Unbroken centre.One of her clients was injured very badly. “But she was very motivated,” she said. “She told that when this event happened she was even shouting, ‘I want to live.’”“Her progress was very good and I really love to work with her because she inspires me too.”URCS contributes to the recovery of local communities by supporting access to health, mental health, and social care services. Psychosocial support and rehabilitation programs will continue to be focal points for URCS in the years ahead.

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Supporting the homeless in Spain: Spanish Red Cross volunteers offer a warm embrace on cold winter nights

Four candles on a rickety table are the only heating and lighting in the makeshift home of Sonia and José Antonio, the four walls around them seemingly held up by a miracle As lighting, the candles do their job, at least, for the tiny living space. As heating, the candles don’t cut it: a cold night of 6 degrees both outside, and inside. The repeated dry coughs of 38-year-old Sonia are just one consequence of the lack of heat. Of the kind of cold that gets into your bones. “They should give her a VIP card at the hospital,” jokes José Antonio, as he lists her lung ailments. They’ve been a couple for four years, almost as long as they’ve lived between these four walls in the middle of a site that was once an important truck factory on the outskirts of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. Tonight, like so many others, they are visited by Juani and Basilio, two volunteers from the Spanish Red Cross homeless care teams. They have brought some food, as the two mastiff puppies, who keep looking for cuddles from the volunteers, can sense. "Come on, get down from there," José Antonio scolds one of them, "you don't have to be cuddly, you have to defend the home," he laments. A generator was recently stolen from them, and with it, their heat. The Red Cross volunteers advise the couple on some of the assistance they can offer and other administrative procedures, but, above all, they share their time. "Our main job is to listen, to get them to open up. Imagine that you live alone, in the street, and you have no one to talk to from the moment you get up until the moment you go to bed," says Basilio, a former military man, who is now in his second year as a volunteer in the homeless care programme. Juani and Basilio's route next takes them to the unfinished changing rooms of a sports facility in the area. There are no windows, no doors, no electricity, no water. The current ‘tenant’, Javier, arrives shortly after by bicycle. By the light of mobile phones, walking among the rubble, you can see broken mattresses, discarded clothes and empty food cans. But the laughter begins. Javier has found himself a new girlfriend, and proudly shows pictures of her off to volunteers Juani and Basilio on his mobile phone. He is very happy with her. His last girlfriend had beat him. "That's the main problem, the dependencies that many of the people we work with carry with them and the violence that accompanies them", Basilio points out. Juani and Basilio's nocturnal route then takes them to an old warehouse in an industrial estate in Alcalá. There they will have another laugh and a few jokes with 68-year-old Moisa, of Romanian origin. Moisa has managed to turn the old warehouse into something resembling a home. He even has a television set on which he watches cowboy movies, the old-fashioned kind that he likes. As he lights up a cigarette, under the disapproving gaze of Juani and Basilio, they begin to talk about the divine and the human and quickly move on from politics to lighter subjects, such as the singer Carla Bruni. After dropping off some food, Basilio and Juani begin the journey back to the Red Cross headquarters in Alcalá. They feel a bit sad, they say. They recently lost a friend from the street. A ‘family member’, they call him. Because, to them, they are all like family. "At least he didn't die in the street, they were able to take him to the hospital and he passed away in a bed," Basilio stresses. "In spite of everything, we have to go on, we can't take our problems home and let the situations we live through break us; I can help if I'm well, if I smile", says Juani, who has spent time on sick leave in the past when another person he was supporting passed away. Comprehensive support for the homeless Juani and Basilio are two of the more than 5,000 Spanish Red Cross volunteers who work with homeless people in Spain. The Spanish Red Cross runs 77 Social Emergency Units (UES) for this purpose in nearly 40 provinces. In addition, they offer 800 places in temporary accommodation for critical moments and run 31 day centres in which they can offer showers, laundry or canteen services when needed. As part of a wider network of organisations providing support to homeless people, they can also refer or transport people who need help to other accommodation or services as needed. "The aim of our work is not only to provide basic goods such as food, shelter and hygiene products, but also to work for the social inclusion of homeless people," says Raquel Zafra, head of the programme in Alcalá de Henares. "Our aim is always for people to go to different spaces where we can provide more in-depth support in the form of social care, monitoring and accompaniment, information and guidance, mediation, or training activities", stresses Zafra. Through the Social Emergency Units, the Spanish Red Cross assisted more than 18,000 people in 2022.

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Kuwaiti Red Crescent and Egyptian Red Crescent support people fleeing Ukraine

Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, Kuwait Red Crescent Society and Egyptian Red Crescent Society teams have rushed to provide humanitarian relief to the neighbouring countries of Ukraine. The Kuwaiti Red Crescent has provided food, medical aid, and necessary supplies to fleeing people affected by the conflict. While the Egyptian Red Crescent has assisted and evacuated Egyptians from Poland and Romania, and provided humanitarian support to others affected alike, including Arabic-speaking people. Dr. Hilal Al Sayer, President of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) said after meeting his Polish counterpart, Jery Bisek: “Kuwaiti aid includes medicines, medical supplies, food, milk for children and other necessities, and it reflects the Kuwaiti leadership and people’s solidarity with affected people living under such difficult circumstances.” Al-Sayer affirmed his country’s keenness to participate in humanitarian relief in all parts of the world, in line with the Kuwaiti humanitarian obligations. He stressed the need to further explore all ways to enhance cooperation and joint coordination to help alleviate the suffering of refugees from Ukraine, with partner organizations in the humanitarian field and with the Polish Red Cross. In turn, the President of the Polish Red Cross expressed his appreciation and gratitude after a Kuwaiti military aid plane loaded with relief materials and medical aid, estimated at 33.5 tons, arrived at Warsaw Airport in Poland. Bisek said: “The Kuwaiti Red Crescent is one of the first National Society responders that stepped in to provide the necessary support and assistance for those fleeing Ukraine”, adding that "the needs are still massive". In parallel, the Egyptian Red Crescent Society continues to provide aid and support to the Egyptian students and families it helped evacuate safely home after they had fled to Poland and Romania. Volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure transportation for Egyptians fleeing from Ukraine across the borders of Poland and Romania to the airport. They also provided them with free hotel accommodation and food, travel documents, cash assistance, medical services, and psychological support. Students and their families expressed deep gratitude to the Egyptian Red Crescent Society for standing by their side in this ordeal, meeting their needs, and ensuring their safe return to their home country. The Egyptian Red Crescent Society, in collaboration with Polish and Romanian Red Cross Societies, has also established two relief centres at the Ukrainian-Romanian and Ukrainian-Polish borders to provide aid to Egyptians, Arabic speakers and others fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, especially women and children. The Egyptian Red Crescent Society also published a slogan on its Facebook page “Safety and Relief Without Discrimination’. Prior to the conflict, 6000 Egyptians lived in Ukraine, 3,000 of whom are students enrolled in the country’s universities.

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