Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of People Displaced in Humanitarian Settings: Lessons Learned

in the series Moving On: New Research on Migration, Borders and Health Mark van Ommeren, Head, Mental Health Unit, Mental Health and Substance Use, World Health Organization (WHO); and Green College Society Member Coach House, Green College, UBC, and livestreamed Thursday, January 12, 5-6:30 pm with, reception to follow Tea and coffee will be available at 4:30 pm in the Piano Lounge Mark van Ommeren will provide an overview of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in large humanitarian crises, including forced displacement, and outline what the WHO sees as the minimum actions to be conducted by the health sector in any large disaster or conflict. He will also discuss the dilemma of trade-offs in priority settings in term of impacts on suffering, human rights and equity, and what this means for research and practice. Mark van Ommeren, PhD, is Head of the Mental Health Unit within the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Use. The Unit covers a wide range of topics including suicide prevention, services across the life course, mental health education, psychological interventions, essential medicines and mental health in humanitarian emergencies and at the workplace. He coordinated the writing of the WHO (2022) World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All.