Brain Stimulation 2018: Contextual investigation: Lessons thought while Carrying Out a MHPSS Intervention with War-Affected Children

Michael Oboye

Protecting and improving people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being in humanitarian crises has recently emerged from its ‘humanitarian ghetto’ (Wessells, 2009) towards acceptance as a fundamental and essential part of any post-humanitarian emergency provision. Yet, this newly emerging field of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) has a long way to go before acceptance and full integration as an evidence-based component of all post- conflict and post-disaster interventions. This is because this incipient field is hampered by gaps in practitioners’ field experience (IASC, 2007), a scarcity of rigorously evaluated research studies (Jordans, Tol, Komproe, Lasuba, Ntamutumba, et al. 2010) and inadequate training of international humanitarian psychologists who deliver these MHPSS interventions in the field (Wessells, 2009). In order to avoid the many pitfalls of inadvertently causing harm through good-intentioned yet ultimately detrimental practices, there is a need to incorporate new emerging insights (IASC, 2007) and learn from the experiences and oversights of others