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Dr. Inka Weissbecker, PhD, MPHGlobal Mental Health and Psychosocial Advisor

International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps Emergency Response Team arrived March 13th

Mental health and psychosocial support identified as urgent need

Response coordinated with national authorities and local coordination bodies

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IMC Response: Distributed IASC guidelines in

Japanese (over 12 organizations, more than 482 people).

Funded translation requested by Japanese National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of IASC MHPSS guidelines for the health sector

Organized workshops on IASC guidelines for Japanese mental health workers together with NIMH

Challenge: Best practices in MHPSS often not known or overlooked in emergencies

Recommended for helpers (e.g. relief workers) in conflict and crisis situations

A non-intrusive way of providing psychosocial support which teaches:

Doing no harm Normal reactions to stress and loss Listening in a supportive way Coping strategies Ways of linking people to needed services

including specialized referral for those experiencing severe distress

Staff self-care

IMC Response: Provided Training of Trainers for our

local partner organization TELL in PFA and adapted PFA training to local context

Trained 85 phone counselors from TELL and other organizations in PFA

Disseminated PFA handouts to five major relief organizations working in Japan (reaching over 4,000 people)

Challenge: Disaster responders often lack knowledge of how to respond to distress of affected population

Trainee scores on several dimensions of perceived competency in assisting those experiencing distress significantly increased post training

Trainees reported higher awareness of community empowerment, doing no harm, protection issues and self-care after training

International Medical Corps continues supporting local partners in scale up of PFA in Japan