ABSTRACT
When working in complex emergency settings, the GMH providers face external, personal, and professional challenges. A “complex emergency” is characterized by extensive violence and loss of life, massive displacements of people, widespread damage to societies and economies, the need for large-scale, multi-faceted humanitarian assistance, and the hindrance or prevention of humanitarian assistance by political and military constraints (WHO, 2002). To address the complex needs of the affected populations and ensure consistent implementation of the MH agenda, the IASC developed guidelines for mental health and psychosocial supports in emergencies (IASC, 2007), which designate different roles for the providers within a complementary system of MH interventions. This model serves as operational guidance when the choice of interventions is limited by politics, funding, resources, or compromised referral systems.
