{"id":3963,"date":"2023-08-30T19:53:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/?p=3963"},"modified":"2023-08-30T19:54:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:54:18","slug":"2023-snf-nostos-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.refugepoint.org\/2023-snf-nostos-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Attending the 2023 SNF Nostos Conference on Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By Dr. Sonasha Braxton, Senior Technical Advisor for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) at RefugePoint<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SNF Nostos 2023 Conference, hosted by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, convened experts, practitioners, and activists in Athens, Greece from June 21 to 23. With a focus on youth mental health, the event explored loneliness among youth, arts integration, AI, technology, the importance of support systems, and community-based health approaches, fostering collaborative solutions for a more inclusive and mentally resilient world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attendees discussed the progress of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/camhi.gr\/en\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which shaped discussions throughout the event. Concurrent sessions unfolded across multiple venues within the SNF center, facilitating dynamic conversations and numerous important takeaways for RefugePoint. Notably, Former President Barack Obama took part in this year\u2019s conference, along with speakers from the UN, INGOs, the private sector, sports teams, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>Key Topics Explored: Youth Mental Health, Challenges, and Solutions<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference covered numerous topics, addressing both challenges and innovative approaches to mental health. Prominent discussions centered around specific populations&#8217; mental health challenges, integration of cultural-affirming mental health care, and the detrimental impact of stigma.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>SNF&#8217;s Mental Health Leadership<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Stavros Niarchos Foundation has emerged as a prominent advocate and influencer in the global mental health community.\u00a0 Its Global Health Initiative (GHI) has a strong focus on mental health, aiming to enhance access, quality, and equity globally. The SNF Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, established in partnership with the Child Mind Institute, facilitates improved youth mental health care by increasing access to information and training, promoting partnerships and knowledge exchange, and reducing stigma and discrimination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>Partnerships in Mental Health and the Arts<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SNF has formed partnerships with a number of organizations performing ground-breaking work at the crossroads of arts and mental health. The International Arts+Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins, an innovation hub exploring the nexus of arts and brain science, and The Office Arts, which bridges arts, social impact, and mental health, are emblematic of this creative synergy. These partnerships, along with numerous presentations, lectures, and speakers, underscore the potential for innovative scaling of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support within the RefugePoint framework, and that of other organizations in our field.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>Mental Health Support for Refugees<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set against the backdrop of the Messenia Migrant Boat disaster on June 14th, 2023\u2014where a boat carrying <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">up to 750 Pakistani, Syrian, Egyptian, and Palestinian refugees and migrants capsized off the coast of Southern Greece<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014the conference spotlighted the critical topic of refugee mental health. Given the global media attention on this event and the historically large population of refugees and Migrants in Greece, conversations around refugee mental health were prominent throughout the conference. We discussed ways in which processes, policies, and procedures in the humanitarian and asylum system can sometimes manifest in ways that are less than humane, and therefore require internal shifts in policy and practice. Effectively, the conference showcased the necessity for a trauma-informed approach, one of RefugePoints guiding principles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>RefugePoint\u2019s Integration of MHPSS<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RefugePoint\u2019s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) program, is committed to supporting client and staff wellbeing. Poor mental health results in psychological distress, which can impair social interaction and daily functioning. For clients, receiving mental health support through counseling is just as essential as business support, food assistance, or education support. The purpose of staff well-being is to support healthy human beings within the workplace, improve their quality of work, and sustain a productive workforce. A trauma-informed approach is central to our MHPSS work and found throughout the rest of our programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>The Importance of a Trauma-Informed Approach<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trauma-informed approach in mental health emphasizes creating a safe and supportive environment that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is guided by the \u201cFour R&#8217;s\u201d: <\/span><b>Realization<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about trauma and how it can affect people and groups, <\/span><b>recognizing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the signs of trauma, having a system that can <\/span><b>respond<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to trauma, and <\/span><b>resisting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> re-traumatization. Through the principles of collaboration, empowerment, voice, choice, trustworthiness, and cultural awareness,\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">it seeks to integrate understanding and sensitivity to trauma&#8217;s effects into all aspects of client engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>Outcomes of the 2023 SNF Nostos Conference<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference illuminated RefugePoint&#8217;s trajectory in the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) landscape. It highlighted the organization&#8217;s evolution toward a truly trauma-informed approach. The event provided a platform for expanding and deepening the MHPSS community of practice, fostering connections with like-minded organizations<\/span><b>, and identifying opportunities for innovative approaches to mental health through the integration of the arts, youth voices, and technology.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Dr. Sonasha Braxton, Senior Technical Advisor for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) at RefugePoint &nbsp; The SNF Nostos 2023 Conference, hosted by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, convened experts, practitioners, and activists in Athens, Greece from June 21 to 23. With a focus on youth mental health, the event explored loneliness among youth, arts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"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>Attending the 2023 SNF Nostos Conference on Mental Health | RefugePoint<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The SNF Nostos 2023 Conference, hosted by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, convened experts, practitioners, and activists in Athens, Greece.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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