Mental Health and Psychosocial Support during the COVID-19 Response: An Overview

by Joseph O. Prewitt Diaz (Editor)

Overview

This new volume presents a holistic scenario of the challenges of providing mental health and psychosocial support to areas around the world with the most vulnerable populations during the tragic COVID-19 pandemic. The book synthesizes over 350 interviews with mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) professionals on the ground in countries around the world, discussing the lack of services and providing strategies for implementing mental health and psychosocial support in such situations going forward. The book is a first look at MHPSS during the COVID-19 pandemic with the hope that it will inspire and generate action for future worldwide mental health and psychosocial support responses.

This essential book is a call to action for cultural, linguistic, and contextual actions that addresses inclusiveness of the most vulnerable and unheard communities and that re-establishes resilience through mental health and psychosocial community-led programs. The volume is an analysis by a seasoned humanitarian worker with over 30 years of direct experience with the most vulnerable communities, with contributions from several colleagues. They help frame COVID-19 as a systemic loss of protective factors, where communities collapsed psychologically, socially, and economically.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774912904
Publisher:	Apple Academic Press
Publication date:	06/30/2023
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joseph O. Prewitt Diaz, PhD, is a practitioner-scholar who began his career as a public health worker in the depressed villages of his native Puerto Rico. He was formerly a professor at Pennsylvania State University, where he trained over 120 PhD-level educational leaders. He served as a mental health volunteer at some of the major disasters in the United States, among them the Oklahoma City Bombing and the 9/11 United Recovery in Shanksville, PA. In 1998, he was assigned to International Disaster Services where he implemented mental health and community psychosocial support programs in South America and Southeast Asia. He has worked in over 57 countries as the mental health technical expert for the IFRC/ COVID-19 work group. During his years of service, he received multiple national and international awards for his service, research, and scholarly contributions.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Background of MHPSS Introduction 1. Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support as a Tool to Address the Societal Needs Raised by COVID-19 2. Activating Community Resilience through Community Capitals After COVID-19 3. Community Engagement in Times of COVID-19 PART 2: ASSESSMENT OF POPULATION NEEDS OF THE MOST VULNERABLE 4. Community Engagement During COVID-19 and Beyond 5. Community-Based Psychosocial Support: A Process for the Protection of Vulnerable Populations During COVID-19 6. Serving the Most Vulnerable: Psychosocial Support in Indigenous Communities in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru 7. Psychological Support Migration Appeal International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent 8. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Three African Countries: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone 9. Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Needs in Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda PART 3: IMPLEMENTING MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT 10. An Examination of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Four Low-Income Countries in South Asia  11. Chronology of MHPSS Interventions in the Americas During the Immediate and Early Recovery 12. Country-Level Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Programs: Moving Forward After COVID-19 13. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support During and After the Pandemic: A Practical Response 14. Monitoring and Evaluation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support