As a global first responder for over 30 years, International Medical Corps’ medical professionals know a ton about the human body: how to perform lifesaving operations, treat chronic illnesses, address and prevent infectious diseases, and bring children back from the brink of starvation. But matters of the mind and heart can be more mysterious. Says …
As our plane landed in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, I wondered what lay before us. Since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, the region we were visiting has been wracked by violence, and has seen the highest number of internally displaced people in the country– an estimated 1.7 million. It’s still considered one …
Hind Yousef laughs heartily as she recounts using her degree in clinical psychology to diagnose herself with a “Type A personality.” She identifies with people who need a lot of structure and organization–yet she strikes me as someone who is immensely comfortable with chaos. After all, she works in Jordan providing mental health care to …
In response to a worldwide initiative to prevent and control mental health illnesses, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the International Medical Corps, launched the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in May 2014 with the goal of reforming and improving mental health care in Lebanon.
Single male refugees and unaccompanied adolescent boys are subject to a number of threats and risks which are often overlooked and under-addressed by the humanitarian community, a recent report showed.
It is estimated that one in five people are affected by depression and anxiety in humanitarian emergencies and ongoing conflict. Yet, mental health services are often non-existent or not accessible. In fact, four out of five people with mental disorders do not receive care in low and middle income countries. As one of the few …
Sierra Leone is amongst the poorest countries in the world with alarming cases of mental health problems, worsened by events like the recent devastating floods. But support in psychological first aid (PFA) is giving renewed hope to victims of the recent mudslide disaster in Freetown.
The original impetus behind Insan, an initiative launched in 2013, was to provide psychological treatment to Syrian children in Egypt suffering from the trauma of the civil war in their home country.
Samia* and Khaled* married 13 years ago. They were both 23. Samia remembers their first five years of marriage fondly. The couple lived together in Burj Al Barajneh Palestinian camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs and soon had three children, Tareq*, Hani*, and Sara*. Then cracks in their relationship started to emerge. Khaled rarely worked, which …
Ebola, the Syrian refugee crisis, hurricanes. International Medical Corps is on the ground now providing lifesaving care to those suffering due to war, disaster or disease. Every dollar you donate by June 30 will be matched up to $20,000.