{"id":3832,"date":"2023-06-14T10:14:51","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T10:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/?p=3832"},"modified":"2023-12-27T17:59:59","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T17:59:59","slug":"mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/about\/team\/?teamId=2480\">Dr. Sonasha Braxton<\/a>, Senior Technical Advisor for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) at RefugePoint<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Csjzq5qgN0x\/\">Research has shown<\/a> that humanitarian workers experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms than the general population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can logically deduce that this is because humanitarian workers are often placed in highly stressful situations in places that are far from home, from loved ones, support networks, and places that are often under-resourced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, humanitarian workers often:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Face powerful ethical dilemmas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work long hours in difficult living and working conditions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Face security risksExperience high levels of pressure and responsibility<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are exposed to traumatic material in the stories that they hear and the situations they witness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Face the cognitive dissonance of being both powerful and powerless at the same time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CspGB30gMTw\/\">At RefugePoint<\/a>, we see and encourage all agencies to view mental health and psychosocial support for humanitarian workers as a moral imperative. At RefugePoint, we ensure the following for our staff:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-deployment preparation by providing basic training in key MHPSS areas\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optional dialogues during and post deployment around stress management, resilience, self-care planning, and support<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resources in preparation for transitioning out of the assignment into other environments,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Newsletters, podcasts, wellness needs, assessments, opportunities for peer support, and a library of MHPSS resources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For clinical support, we partner with an insurance company that provides counseling and has an international employee assistance program that has online tools, articles and offers crisis management and emergency services.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We recommend that our staff and other humanitarian workers do the following to care for their own mental health:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set boundaries (interpersonal, professional, emotional, material, time)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set manageable and realistic expectations around work<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take time out during your work day. (Take breaks. Take a walk. Reset.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do what gives you joy. If you can\u2019t engage in your favorite hobbies the same way you did before, find creative ways to engage.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find your tribe: make healthy connections with colleagues and others in the local community.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maintain connections with the people whose relationships are important to you.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maintain healthy eating habits\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know yourself. Monitor yourself for changes that might require you to seek out support (whether that\u2019s therapy, group sessions or talking with a friend)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask for help, whether that\u2019s for a particular work assignment or professional mental health support.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember you\u2019re human. Practice self-compassion. It\u2019s okay to make mistakes. There are a lot of moving parts. Forgive yourself and keep moving forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/interagencystandingcommittee.org\/\">Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)<\/a> guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings clearly state that the provision of support to mitigate the possible psychosocial consequences of work and crisis situations is a moral obligation and responsibility of organizations exposing staff to extremes. We are, of course, always a work in progress, but we take this responsibility seriously and are committed to supporting our staff and their mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Dr. Sonasha Braxton, Senior Technical Advisor for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) at RefugePoint &nbsp; Research has shown that humanitarian workers experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms than the general population.\u00a0 We can logically deduce that this is because humanitarian workers are often placed in highly stressful situations in places [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":3833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[42,23,41,40,43],"acf":{"extra_image":false,"disable_featured_image":false,"hide_post_date":false,"article_style":"default"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers | RefugePoint<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore mental health support for humanitarian workers. Learn about initiatives, challenges, and the importance of self-care in demanding roles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers | RefugePoint\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore mental health support for humanitarian workers. Learn about initiatives, challenges, and the importance of self-care in demanding roles.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RefugePoint\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RefugePointLifeline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-14T10:14:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-27T17:59:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/db8a2211-f408-4ba4-b68c-203de98c9831.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Sonasha Braxton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RefugePt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RefugePt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Sonasha Braxton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr. Sonasha Braxton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dbc9478b444c29dc8ea47832ac763f03\"},\"headline\":\"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-14T10:14:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-27T17:59:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\"},\"wordCount\":486,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"humanitarian mental health\",\"mental health\",\"mental health awareness\",\"mhpss\",\"psychosocial support\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\",\"name\":\"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers | RefugePoint\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-14T10:14:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-27T17:59:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore mental health support for humanitarian workers. Learn about initiatives, challenges, and the importance of self-care in demanding roles.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/\",\"name\":\"RefugePoint\",\"description\":\"Creating Lasting Solutions for Refugees\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RefugePoint\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/refugepoint-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/refugepoint-logo.png\",\"width\":1001,\"height\":445,\"caption\":\"RefugePoint\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RefugePointLifeline\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RefugePt\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/refugepoint\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dbc9478b444c29dc8ea47832ac763f03\",\"name\":\"Dr. Sonasha Braxton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fdf4988a625023439d70102d5347f491?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fdf4988a625023439d70102d5347f491?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dr. Sonasha Braxton\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers | RefugePoint","description":"Explore mental health support for humanitarian workers. Learn about initiatives, challenges, and the importance of self-care in demanding roles.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers | RefugePoint","og_description":"Explore mental health support for humanitarian workers. Learn about initiatives, challenges, and the importance of self-care in demanding roles.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/","og_site_name":"RefugePoint","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RefugePointLifeline\/","article_published_time":"2023-06-14T10:14:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-27T17:59:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/db8a2211-f408-4ba4-b68c-203de98c9831.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dr. Sonasha Braxton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RefugePt","twitter_site":"@RefugePt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. Sonasha Braxton","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/"},"author":{"name":"Dr. Sonasha Braxton","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dbc9478b444c29dc8ea47832ac763f03"},"headline":"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers","datePublished":"2023-06-14T10:14:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-27T17:59:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/"},"wordCount":486,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["humanitarian mental health","mental health","mental health awareness","mhpss","psychosocial support"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/","url":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/","name":"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers | RefugePoint","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-06-14T10:14:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-27T17:59:59+00:00","description":"Explore mental health support for humanitarian workers. Learn about initiatives, challenges, and the importance of self-care in demanding roles.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/mental-health-for-humanitarian-workers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mental Health for Humanitarian Workers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/","name":"RefugePoint","description":"Creating Lasting Solutions for Refugees","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#organization","name":"RefugePoint","url":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/refugepoint-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/refugepoint-logo.png","width":1001,"height":445,"caption":"RefugePoint"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RefugePointLifeline\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/RefugePt","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/refugepoint\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/person\/dbc9478b444c29dc8ea47832ac763f03","name":"Dr. Sonasha Braxton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fdf4988a625023439d70102d5347f491?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fdf4988a625023439d70102d5347f491?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dr. Sonasha Braxton"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}