The Children and Families Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Resource Collection

My Hero is You Resource Collection

The storybook 'My Hero is You' is part of a resource kit that addresses the key topics of how children can protect themselves, their families and their friends from the coronavirus and how to manage difficult emotions when confronted with new and rapidly changing realities. It was developed for children all over the world affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through a comprehensive consultative process with over 1,700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world. The book “My Hero is You” should be read by a parent, caregiver or teacher alongside a child or a small group of children. It is not designed for children to read this book independently without the support of a parent, caregiver, or teacher. The resource kit contains: - A storybook for children My Hero is you: How kids can Hope with COVID-19 - The supplementary guide called “Actions for Heroes”, A Guide for heart-to-heart chats with Children to accompany the reading of My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19! - My Hero is You 2021: How kids can hope with COVID-19 - Audio Files - My Hero is You 2020 - A short animated film, with input and oversight from the IASC Mental health and Psychosocial Support Reference Group, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The film aims to convey messages of hope, resilience, solidarity, and empowerment to children and their caregivers around the world.

The Children's Resilience Programme

The Children’s Resilience Programme aims to: improve cooperation and peaceful interaction between children; improve the motivation to play, problem solving and positive attitude to others; enhance positive expectations to the future; enhance impulse control; and enhance capacity and awareness about self-protection and protection of peers. It uses a nonclinical psychosocial and protection methodology that focuses on children’s positive coping and resilience. It comprises 8-16 structured workshops for children aged 10-16 years old. The programme can be implemented for children in and out of school, during or after disasters, in situations of armed conflict, for children affected by HIV, or as part of preventative social work. It is designed to be implemented by the same one or two facilitators once or twice a week with the same group of children. This resource kit provides guidance for designing, implementing and evaluating the Children’s Resilience Programme and contains the following resources: 1. The booklet Understanding Children’s Wellbeing provides an introduction to psychosocial support, child protection and children’s reactions to difficult events. 2. The Programme Manager’s Handbook guides managers on how to plan, implement and evaluate Children’s Resilience Programmes. 3. The Facilitator Handbook 1: Getting Started consists of an introduction to the Children’s Resilience Programme, the first 5 workshops for the children, three additional workshops and two options to use to end a workshop track, as well as the guide for meetings with parents and caregivers. 4. The Facilitator Handbook 2: Workshop tracks consists of four workshop tracks that are concerned with Protection against abuse and exploitation, Children affected by armed conflict, Children affected by disaster and Children affected by HIV or AIDS. 5. The Children’s Resilience Programme Monitoring & Evaluation toolkit: These are guidelines for how to monitor and evaluate the Children’s Resilience Programme. They are designed for Project/Programme Managers and other involved and interested staff. To ensure appropriate delivery and quality of the Children’s Resilience Programme the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) System has two functions: 1) to monitor the progress and 2) to monitor and evaluate the outcome of the programme.

Ukraine Parenting Response: Helping children and parents cope

The Ukraine Parenting Response: Helping children and parents cope leaflet gives 14 sets of practical tips that parents and caregivers can use to support themselves and their children during crisis. The leaflet covers tips on self-care for the parent or caregiver, different ways of supporting children to cope with stress, anger and loss, as well as advice and practical tips for ensuring their safety and protection.

I Support My Friends Resource Kit: Equipping Children and Adolescents

This resource kit contains a comprehensive package of tools and resources to best equip children and adolescents in safe and effective peer support, together with adult mentors. It provides guidance and tools for preparing, designing, and implementing training with children and adolescents about how to support a friend in distress building on PFA. The resource kit also includes guidance for appropriate adult supervision to ensure the physical and emotional safety of child and adolescent helpers and the friends they support. The resource kit is comprised of: 1. Theory and Implementation Guide This presents an overview of key concepts and the theoretical foundation of I Support My Friends. It describes the ethical considerations and child-safeguarding actions that need to be in place to protect children’s best interests and their physical and emotional safety. It also outlines the roles and responsibilities and expected skills and competencies of trusted adults who mentor child and adolescent peer supporters. 2. Training Manual This outlines a three-day, step-by-step training package, including case studies, stories and a list of required materials and tools to support the preparation and implementation of the training. 3. Participant’s Workbook This contains the worksheets to be used by participants in the training. 4. Manual for Training of Facilitators and Focal Points (forthcoming) This includes materials to build the capacity of the adult facilitators and Focal Point(s) who will implement the training for children and adolescents. Once field tested, the package will include a training manual, agenda, PowerPoint slides and other guiding materials.

P.O.W.E.R. Play Opportunities for Wellness and Education Resource

Play Opportunities for Wellness and Education Resource (P.O.W.E.R.) is a collection of 100 gender-responsive play-based learning activities created to support parents, teachers, coaches, social workers and others to promote children's learning and development. All learning activities are play-based and are for children 6 years of age and up. They can be used by any adult who works directly with children including peer or youth leaders and cover the following topics: health and psychosocial wellbeing, cognitive development, social development, emotional development, gender and child protection. Each activity includes the appropriate age, the time, the number of players and the materials needed. In addition, this resource also includes guidance for facilitators on the following topics: keeping children safe, child agency, psychosocial wellbeing plat, gender responsive play and children with disabilities and play.

Conflict Management and Peace Building in Everyday Life: A resource kit for children and youth

The Conflict Management and Peacebuilding in Everyday Life resource kit contains a series of tools that have been collected, adapted and used with and by children and youth in diverse socio-cultural and political contexts. The tools may be used with and by children and youth to analyse conflict, to plan, implement and assess conflict management and peace building activities. They can also be used to develop and strengthen strategic plans for peace building in different settings, such as family and school, and at community, district and national levels. This kit will be useful for education programme managers, education advisors, and teachers.

Connect with Respect: Preventing Gender-Based Violence in Schools

The Connect with Respect Preventing Gender-based Violence in Schools tool has been created to help teachers, school principals and the broader education system to deliver education programmes in early secondary school by providing positive role models, empowering children and youth to have healthy and respectful relationships, and delivering a violence prevention programme within their curriculum in Asia and the Pacific. It is designed for students between 11 and 14 years of age, but can be adapted for use with older students. It provides age-appropriate learning activities on important themes and concepts relating to the prevention of gender-based violence and promotion of respectful relationships. The learning activities are informed by research into effective teaching about gender, violence prevention, and life-skills development and are designed for use in the formal school system; however, they can be modified for use in non-formal education settings, including through community learning or literacy programmes.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups: Programme Resource Package

The MHPSS in CAAFAG Programmes Resource Package (field-test version) is an inter-agency package of resources that aims to support the integration of MHPSS into programmes for the prevention, release, and reintegration of children associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG). It offers evidence-based guidance on how to support the mental health and well-being of children, families, and communities in emergency, humanitarian, and post-conflict settings through CAAFAG programming. The MHPSS in CAAFAG Programmes Resource Package includes a suite of four resources: • Operational Guidance for MHPSS in CAAFAG Programmes: The operational guidance includes an operational framework to guide the design and implementation of MHPSS services in CAAFAG programmes. The operational guidance is a complement to the CAAFAG Programme Development Toolkit Guide developed by the CAAFAG Task Force and aligns with the UNICEF Global Multisectoral Operational Framework for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of Children, Adolescents and Caregivers Across Settings (Demonstration Version) with linkages to the MHPSS Minimum Services Package. The operational guidance consists of two sections: 1) Understanding Children’s MHPSS Assets and Needs and 2) Operational Framework for MHPSS for CAAFAG. • An Evidence Review of MHPSS programming relevant to CAAFAG: The evidence review defines key terms, offers an elaboration on key concepts and considerations for MHPSS among CAAFAG; describes approaches to delivering MHPSS, considers risk and protective factors, offer considerations around integrating MHPSS throughout the CAAFAG programming, describes MHPSS tools for use with CAAFAG programmes, and offers a discussion of evidence gaps and recommended areas for further research. • Contextualization Guidance for MHPSS delivery in CAAFAG programming: The contextualization guidance defines the key aspects of contextualisation for CAAFAG MHPSS programmes and highlights key steps for contextualising the MHPSS for CAAFAG Operational Framework. The guidance also offers information, tools, and illustrative case studies to inform the adaptation of components of the MHPSS for CAAFAG Operational Framework to cultures, contexts, and situations. • Advocacy and Dissemination Package on MHPSS delivery in CAAFAG programming to drive further development and research.

PFA for Children II: Dealing with Traumatic Responses in Children.

The PFA for Children II: Dealing with Traumatic Responses in Children training manual provides guidance for staff working with children who are severely affected psychologically by acute crisis. It is not a clinical tool and does not qualify staff to engage in clinical interventions. It is a supplementary training to Save the Children’s Psychological First Aid Training for Child Practitioners (2013), which lays the foundation for providing PFA. In some situations, additional skills to providing comfort and stabilization are needed. PFA II can be used to train such additional skills. It provides advice to staff dealing directly with children who are showing concerning behaviours (beyond what is perceived as common reactions to traumatic events). The training is designed for people who are not trained in mental health, and is based on field experience, research and the latest theories on child trauma, resilience and recovery.

Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners

This Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners is for training people working with children on how to provide Psychological First Aid (PFA). The training aims to build skills for providing physical and emotional comfort by modelling calmness and teaches participants active listening that can be used to encourage children in distress to voice their concerns and needs. It provides information on connecting children in distress to practical assistance through referral networks and information on positive coping strategies. The training also includes a one day training for humanitarian workers on stress management.

Caring for your Child in Crisis Situation

The Caring for your Child in Crisis Situation booklet aims to help parents in crisis situations who are concerned about their children’s wellbeing, to support themselves and their children understand and cope with reactions, manage challenges they may be facing, and how to stay connected as a family. Examples of specific topics are safety, dealing with bereavement, providing warmth and support, giving praise, spending time together and talking, encouraging good behaviour, and dealing with fighting and aggression.

Singing to the Lions: A Facilitator’s Guide to Overcoming Fear and Violence in Our Lives

Singing to the Lions’ is a training manual based on proven psycho-therapeutic interventions that help children and youth overcome fear and violence in their lives. It targets children ages 11+; however adaptations are easily made for younger and older groups, including adults. It is intended for survivors of armed conflict, refugees, adolescents and young people who experienced physical or sexual abuse and other trauma. Through its use of games, drawing, drama and stories, ‘Singing to the Lions’ can be implemented for groups of +/- 20 people in a 3-day workshop or divided into six separate modular sessions of three hours each.

Communicating with Children About Death and Helping Children Cope with Grief

The 'Communicating with children about death and helping children cope with grief' resource provides guidance for adults on communicating with children about death and helping them cope with grief. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it highlights how children of different ages experience loss and grief, how to talk to them about it and how to help them cope with loss during the pandemic and humanitarian emergencies.

Guidance Note for Teacher Wellbeing in Emergency Settings

The Guidance Note for Teacher Wellbeing in Emergency Settings provides information on how to support teacher wellbeing in the five domains of INEE’s (2010) Minimum Standards. It explains how to: promote mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for teachers; create more enabling work environments for teachers; and enhance teacher voice, agency, and leadership in crises. ​The guidance note offers resources and tools and examples of these standards in action. The guidance note is for people who work in all humanitarian and development sectors that impact the lives of teachers both at work and out of work in their homes and communities. Elevating the importance of teacher wellbeing emphasizes the critical role it plays in strengthening humanitarian-development coherence and improving the resiliency of education systems.

Stress Busters

Stress Busters is an activity resource developed to address stressful situations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a collection of six simple drama based relaxation exercises that an adult can engage in with a child or a group of children to help them relax and release muscle tension from possible exposure to stress.

Training in Psychological First Aid Module 3: PFA for Children

The Psychological First Aid Module 3: PFA for Children is for training people working with children on how to provide Psychological First Aid (PFA). The training has been developed for staff and volunteers working with psychosocial support for children and those providing direct care and support to children and their caregivers in distress, such as nurses, teachers, social workers, health volunteers, ambulance workers or other first responders. The activities take between eight to nine hours and can be run in one long day or over one-and-a-half days. This manual is part of the PFA kit developed by IFRC in 2018.

INEE Background Paper on Psychosocial Support and Social and Emotional Learning for Children and Youth in Emergency Settings

The INEE Background Paper on Psychosocial Support and Social and Emotional Learning clarifies relevant terminologies and approaches relating to psychosocial well-being and social and emotional learning (SEL) in education in crisis-affected contexts, and explores how psychosocial support (PSS) and social and emotional learning relate to one another. The target audiences for this paper are education practitioners, academics, and policy-makers working in education in emergencies and protracted crises and the various sections highlight references to specific entry points for each. The paper includes various considerations for training, supervision, and well-being, as well as guidance on adopting a gender perspective, while also providing an overview of the impact of conflict and natural disasters on children’s well-being and the related risk factors and impact of stress on brain development.

Mourning for a Loved One When You Cannot Attend Funeral Services

The Mourning for a Loved One When you Cannot Attend Funeral Services information sheet presents ideas for how to help adults and children to cope with the grief of a significant loss despite not being able to attend a funeral. It also provides ideas how people can have memorial services for the deceased person. There are suggestions for different activities to do with children of different ages. This information sheet can be used caregivers and others supporting children cope with grief.

Common Signs of Psychosocial Distress in Children

The Common Signs of Psychosocial Distress in Children provides information on common ways children react when they experience psychosocial distress. Children`s reaction vary depending on multiple factors, including their ages. The information sheet gives examples of common reactions for different age groups, and provides guidance on simple things that caregviers can do to create a supportive environment for their children and reduce negative impact of the crisis situation. It is important to recognise signs of distress and this resource is helpful for anyone who interacts, lives with or works with children.

Coping with Changes: Social-Emotional Learning Through Play

Coping with Changes: Social-Emotional Learning Through Play is an online course on how to provide playful and engaging social emotional learning (SEL) support to children. It was developed due to the disruption in children's lives due to COVID-19 but can be used in any settings where children experience high levels of stress. Course participants explore the practical and emotional challenges children face and explore the concept of 'learning through play' and stress management strategies that can help. The course also considers the potential long term effects of crises on a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. This is an interactive course and at every step of the course, learners can meet other learners, share their ideas and join in active discussions in the comments. This course is primarily designed for primary caregivers and teachers of young people. The course is also revelant for culture and social workers, artists, and humanitarian workers. Examples of topics in the course are: - Foundations of Learning through Play  - Importance of MHPSS / SEL in Crisis  - Adult Wellbeing   - Age sensitive SEL knowledge and activities - Coping with Changes and Transitions

Helping Children Cope with Grief During a War

Helping Children Cope with Grief During a War is an interactive web-based leaflet, developed to help people understand how children of different ages experience loss and grief; how to talk to them about it, and how to help them cope with the death of a loved one during war and displacement. It is presented as a leaflet that answers many questions a caregiver may have, such as Do children grieve?, Should I tell my children if someone they love has died?, What is the best way to tell them?

Helping Adolescents Thrive Toolkit

The Helping Adolescents Thrive toolkit, developed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, provides programmatic guidance, based on evidence-based guidelines, for people working in the health, social services and education sectors on how to implement mental health promotive and preventive interventions that are appropriate to local needs and the contexts where adolescents live. The toolkit covers the legal foundations required for such programmes to succeed, the features of environments that are conducive to the well-being of adolescents, what support should be provided to parents and other caregivers, and psychosocial interventions that work.

How You Can Support Your Child During Bombing?

This tip sheet, developed by the Child Protection Global Protection Cluster, provides advice on how to support children during bombings. It contains tips for parents and caregivers on providing emotional support, and ensuring stress reduction and physical safety for children during active bombings. It is a simple sheet that can be printed and shared with parents and caregivers.

Supporting Adolescents and their Families in Emergencies

Supporting Adolescents and their Families in Emergencies (SAFE) is a protection and psychosocial support program model to strengthen the capacity of front-line actors so that adolescent girls and boys (ages 10-19) are safer, more supported, and equipped with positive coping strategies in acute emergencies. SAFE aims to make adolescent girls and boys more visible and heard in the first phase of an emergency response. The SAFE Resource Package is publicly available and includes practical field-friendly implementation guidance, detailed facilitator training manuals and three tailored curricula – for adolescent girls, for adolescent boys, and for caregivers.

Safe Healing and Learning Spaces Toolkit

The SHLS Toolkit provides frontline humanitarian staff with practical implementation guidance, adaptable sample tools, comprehensive training materials, and scripted instructional content needed to initiate an SHLS in an emergency setting. Resources are provided for a 9-month program, and applicable in both rural and urban areas, based on locally-defined needs and priorities. The content is holistic, including tools for social-emotional learning, reading and math, and parenting support. Materials are open source, user-friendly and designed for managers and facilitators in the form of structured yet adaptable training and learning content. The tools are evidence-based and practitioner-tested, developed bythe IRC’s in-house technical experts, field tested with displaced communitiesand frontline staff in Nigeria, Chad and Iraq, and refined through feedbackfrom academic and peer reviewers.

Caring for Children through Conflict and Displacement

The Caring for Children through Conflict and Displacement booklet gives tips to caregivers who have lived through war and conflict and forced to leave their homes. The booklet aims to help caregivers by giving some ideas on how they can help themself feel better, and how they can help their children.

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Services Package

The MHPSS MSP is a resource for humanitarian actors who plan, support, coordinate, implement and evaluate activities within and across sectors. These include government actors, MHPSS Technical Working Groups (TWGs), national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and other advocacy groups, Red Cross and Red Crescent networks, UN agencies, coordinators of sectors/clusters/AoRs and donors. The MHPSS MSP informs the development and implementation of humanitarian response planning processes and documents including Humanitarian Needs Overviews, Humanitarian Response Plans, Refugee Response Plans, cluster strategy development and specific donor funding calls and mechanisms. The MSP builds on existing MHPSS standards and tools to create a single, easy-to-follow intersectoral package. It encompasses a wide range of activities that can be implemented by staff and volunteers with diverse backgrounds, qualifications and levels of experience. While standards, guidelines and tools for MHPSS have been developed, there is a recognized need for an intersectoral costed package to operationalize these guidelines and standards.

Tips for Working with Children: A Pocket Guide for Border Patrol Agents

The Pocket Guide for Border Patrol Agents provides tips for taking a child-sensitive approach which allows agents to carry out their work and communicate in a way that support children’s safety and well-being, while minimizing harm. It can also be used by others than border patrol agents, who meet children at the border or on the move.

How to Talk to Children About War

The How to Talk to Children About War set is a small pack of illustrated cards for parents and caregivers developed by Save the Children. It includes tips on how to support children directly affected by conflict, or who have friends in conflict settings, or who may be struggling to find explanations after watching disturbing images on television or on social media. It can also be used by volunteers providing support to conflict-affected families and children, and by staff and volunteers manning hotlines and helplines who may be receiving calls for advice and assistance from anxious adults and children.

The Kip Crew Manages Their Worries – Activity Booklet

The Kip Crew Manages Their Worries is a set of cartoons and little activities about the Kip Crew, that can be read and done with children aged 4-9 years to help them think about and manage feelings of worry or fright. Older children can read and work through the resource by themselves, and younger children with an adult. The activities invite them to learn how to talk about these feelings as well as come up with ways to make themselves and others feel better. It is developed by the Soujellaan Lapsia Protect Children & Fun Academy in Finland.

Fun, Safe, Inclusive: A Half-Day Training Module on Facilitating Skills

The Fun, Safe, Inclusive manual is a half-day training module on facilitation skills that can be used across sectors, for programmes at all levels, to provide a short training on facilitating programmes for children. It can be used as a stand-alone training tool or as part of a comprehensive training on psychosocial and resilience-promoting activities for children, adults and families. The module focuses on facilitation skills promoting fun, safety and inclusion. It draws on new insights about the importance of play from neuroscience, giving ideas for activities designed to alleviate the long-term impact of toxic stress on children’s brains and development.

Global Multi Sectoral Operational Framework for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of Children, Adolescents and Caregivers Across Settings [Field Demonstration version]

UNICEF’s Global Multi Sectoral Operational Framework for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of Children, Adolescents and Caregivers Across Settings [Field Demonstration version] aims to guide MHPSS programme development and integration of MHPSS into all sectors that influence children, adolescents, families and caregivers mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. The framework can be used in development contexts, humanitarian contexts and within the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. There is emphasis on engaging actors in the health, social welfare and child protection and education sectors at all levels of society to design, implement and evaluate MHPSS strategies that are locally relevant, comprehensive and sustainable. The framework can be used by all persons involved in assessing needs; designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programmes for children, adolescents and caregivers; and those involved in advocating for support children, adolescents and caregivers.

Free Reader Application for Ukrainian-speaking Children

The Free Reader Application for Ukrainian-speaking Children free app features a diverse library of books for Ukrainian children, anywhere. It contains 75 books in Ukrainian (with more to come) that have been curated to be culturally relevant, age appropriate and nicely illustrated for the target audience. Most of this book collection is tailored to support social and emotional learning of children aged 4-10 (based on the CASEL framework) and thereby contribute to help them manage distress and trauma and improve their overall educational readiness and success, civic engagement and well-being.

General Support Group Curriculum

The General Support Group Curriculum. developed by the Global Child Protection Area of Responsibility, is a guidance and orientation package focusing on support group interventions for children, adolescents, and families who require basic emotional and practical support to address psychosocial challenges that disrupt their sense of safety, security, and hope. Support groups can help group members to process difficult memories and grieve multiple losses as needed for full psychosocial recovery and stabilization. There is emphasis on encouraging mutual support among group members and linking with wider community supports. This guidance can be used as a basis for training and orienting resource persons who will work with children in small groups. The approach used integrates the IASC pyramid layer three of interventions into child protection activities.

Teacher's Guide to Psychosocial Support Activities for Students for the First Weeks of Students Return to Schools Following Long Breaks

The Teacher's Guide to Psychosocial Support Activities for Students has been designed for the first weeks of return to face-to-face education to support teachers’ efforts in promoting the psychosocial well-being of students as it provides interactive inclusive activities for children aged 6 - 16. The activities contribute to building positive relationships and attitudes, promoting students’ self-esteem, encouraging them to express their feelings, communicate their emotions and deepen their relationship with the school. Furthermore, these activities reduce the impact of potential emotional stress and behavioural problems and prompt students to seek help when needed in a safe school environment. The guide consists of two parts: the first part tackles the most important mental and social health concepts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have an impact on students' academic achievement, life skills, and communication with peers and society. These concepts include: psychosocial well-being, psychosocial support, positive discipline, referral, peer support, and inclusive education. The second part of the guide includes inclusive interactive activities, and some strategies that attempt at alleviating the effects of the psychological pressures that students were exposed to during the period of closure. The guide was developed specifically for teachers in Jordan, but can be used in all countries.

Thinking Healthy: A Manual for Psychosocial Management of Perinatal Depression

The Thinking Healthy manual for Psychosocial Management of Perinatal Depression is to guide community health workers on how to support mothers with depression through evidence based cognitive behavioral techniques that are recommended by the mhGAP programme. It is designed for integration into maternal and child health care programmes in primary care. It requires no previous knowledge or experience of mental health care. Thinking Healthy has an introductory session, followed by five modules covering the period from the second or third pregnancy trimester to the first year of the infant‘s life. The contents of the sessions and activities for the mother are tailored according to the age and developmental stage of the infant and the needs of the mother at each stage. Each module has three sessions, each session covering one of the three areas relevant to mother and infant health during pregnancy and after childbirth – the mother‘s personal well-being, the mother-infant relationship, and the relationship with and support from significant others.

Photovoice Guidance 10 Simple Steps to Involve Children in Needs Assessment

The Photovoice Guidance 10 Simple Steps to Involve Children in Needs Assessment is primarily aimed at country-level Save the Children staff and partners responsible for implementing development or humanitarian programmes. It brings together practical and tested ‘how-to’ guidance from colleagues in Bangladesh. Photovoice is a participatory action research methodology that was coined by Caroline Wang in the 1990s. She describes Photovoice as a methodology that enables people to identify, represent and enhance their community and life circumstances through photography. Photovoice projects aim to make voices heard and support the self-development of participants. Photovoice can be used as a needs assessment tool and to develop a more contextual understanding of the context in which a programme is embedded. In addition to understanding children’s needs, this might include an analysis of children’s coping strategies, giving you an insight into the innate resources and support structures that you will need to strengthen. Obtaining children’s voices at the planning stage, can effectively ensure a programme targets the articulated needs of children and resonates with their lived realities. Photovoice can also be used at to re-define what success and impact looks like, transforming monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

How to Support Your Child During Conflict and Crisis Situations: Advice for Navigating the Most Difficult Times

The How to Support Your Child During Conflict and Crisis Situations: Advice for Navigating the Most Difficult Times is an article that aims to help caregivers with advice and recommendations on how to help both themselves and their children cope during a conflict and crisis situation, and how to stay connected as a family. It includes information on ways to overcome stress in adversity.

Manual on Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Emergencies and Displacement

The Listen and Learn Participatory Assessment with Children and Adolescent tool presents an approach to participatory assessments for children and adolescents. It provides guidance on how to run participatory assessments ethically and inclusively. After tips on preparation, the tool describes a range of participatory workshop methods that can be used by humantarian actors, culminating in a sample workshop module. The tool encourages monitoring and evaluation teams to use varied activities, instead of only focus group discussions. The annex contains a number of practical tools to assist in planning and conducting participatory assessments. There is specific guidance on how to hold structured dialogues with refugee men and women, girls and boys of all ages and backgrounds about their particular protection needs and risks. The tool can be used to ensure that children are at the centre of decision-making concerning their protection and well-being.

Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings

The Guidelines for Community Based MHPSS in Humanitarian Settings: Three-tiered support for children and families aim to protect and promote children’s wellbeing and full participation within the family and community systems that surround and support them. The guidelines offer practical information and tools to implement a range of MHPSS interventions to rapidly address the protection and psychosocial support needs of children and families, in parallel with tailored mental health interventions for those most in need. They are intended for UNICEF staff, partners and other agencies in humanitarian settings to help effectively embed MHPSS programmes for child and family wellbeing in communities. They are especially relevant for partners working in child protection, health and nutrition, education, camp management and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to better understand the MHPSS needs of people facing or recovering from adversity. A deeper understanding of the guidelines in the field will help to improve coordination across sectors, facilitate referrals to ensure that MHPSS needs are met, and enhance coordinated implementation of effective and culturally sound humanitarian interventions that reduce the potential for further harm. The compendium of resources supplements the global guidance through providing a set of resources that can be used in different field settings.

Comfort, Listen, Empower:Psycholgical FIrst Aid for Children During a Crisis

The Comfort, Listen, Empower:Psycholgical FIrst Aid for Children During a Crisis resource set is developed by Save the Children Sweden's Centre for Support and Treatment. It includes includes a guide on Psychologocal First Aid and a leaflet to give parents and one to give to children. It focuses on how adults can support children after critical incidents and during emergencies affecting society as a whole, both in the initial emergency phase and some time after. It refers to difficult events that affect many children – for example terrorist attacks, forest fires, collapse of buildings, or a shooting where many are injured or otherwise affected. It has guidance on what to do first, how to promote a feeling of security, a feeling of calm, a sense of belonging, a feeling of self-confidence, trust in society and promote a sense of hope.

UNICEF Innovations: Adolescent Kit

Adolescent Kit for Expression and Innovation is a package of guidance, tools and supplies to support country programmes to reach and engage adolescents ages 10-18 affected by conflict and other crises. The Kit aims to bring about positive change in adolescents’ lives through arts and innovation. The activities offer adolescents the chance to express themselves, experiment, solve real problems, and explore new ideas. In the process, adolescent girls and boys develop key competencies and new skills that help them to cope with stressful circumstances, build healthy relationships, and engage positively with their communities. The Kit promotes the Adolescent Circles approach, which involves bringing groups of girls and boys ages 10-18 together in a safe space on a regular basis to have fun, cope with difficult experiences, learn, and work together. It draws from good programmatic approaches in psychosocial support, life skills education, child protection, social cohesion and peacebuilding. The Kit can be used by anyone involved in managing programmes or working directly with adolescents in humanitarian and vulnerable development contexts, including staff across different sectors, teachers, Child Friendly Space facilitators, youth facilitators and community volunteers. All or part of the Kit can be integrated into programmes for adolescents in areas such as child protection, education and youth development.

Listen and Learn Participatory Assessment with Children and Adolescents

The Listen and Learn Participatory Assessment with Children and Adolescent tool presents an approach to participatory assessments for children and adolescents. It provides guidance on how to run participatory assessments ethically and inclusively. After tips on preparation, the tool describes a range of participatory workshop methods that can be used by humantarian actors, culminating in a sample workshop module. The tool encourages monitoring and evaluation teams to use varied activities, instead of only focus group discussions. The annex contains a number of practical tools to assist in planning and conducting participatory assessments. There is specific guidance on how to hold structured dialogues with refugee men and women, girls and boys of all ages and backgrounds about their particular protection needs and risks. The tool can be used to ensure that children are at the centre of decision-making concerning their protection and well-being.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Technical Note

The Mental Health and Psychosocial Technical Note synthesizes information on UNICEF’s approach to MHPSS, and references existing MHPSS operational guidance and standards that are detailed across sectors. It has been developed for UNICEF staff and explains : • WHAT Mental Health and MHPSS is, • WHY MHPSS needs to be included and delivered across sectors, and • HOW to deliver effective, multi-sectoral MHPSS in both development and humanitarian contexts. It gives an overview of guidance, evidence-based interventions, standards, resources, and examples of successful MHPSS programs. It also provides practical suggestions to further strengthen UNICEF’s approach to inclusion for people of all ages, genders, abilities, ethnicities and living situations. Children and adolescents are particularly prioritized, and all sectors are encouraged to incorporate MHPSS approaches to support children and family’s mental health and well-being.

Psychosocial Support Activity Pack: A Teacher’s Guide (All Levels)

The Psychosocial Support Activity Pack for Teachers (Kinder, Grades 1-3, and Senior High School) provides guidance for teachers to conduct psychosocial support activities for learners. This packet is designed to bridge healthy socio-emotional well-being (achieved through offering psychosocial support) to academic performance. In this guide, you will find a handful of play and arts-based psychosocial support (PSS) activities that have been thoughtfully designed to help students confidently say, I AM, I HAVE, and I CAN even as we consistently have to adjust to changing circumstances and take extra care to remain safe. These activities aim to enrich the students' wellbeing, and socio-emotional and cognitive/academic development.

The Resilience Programme for Young Men: A Psychosocial Handbook

The Resilience Programme for Young Men: A psychosocial handbook is a resource for programme managers and trainers in providing psychosocial support for young men living in vulnerable or unstable situations. The handbook provides guidance on managing psychosocial support programmes and sets out a two-day training workshop with psychosocial activities specifically designed for young men living in difficult conditions. The activity catalogue suggesting relevant activities can complement the handbook but also be used separately. It includes guidance for programme managers on integrating resilience building into a variety of youth programmes.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing Across the Life Course. Towards an Integrated Conceptual Framework for Research and Evidence Generation

The paper on Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing Across the Life Course aims to inform research on child and adolescent mental health. It incorporates children’s developmental stages and the dynamic environment in which they live and grow. Informed by a review of existing theoretical frameworks on mental health and child development, it presents a framework that integrates elements of the socio-ecological model; the life course approach; the social determinants of health approach; and Innocenti Report Card’s Worlds of Influence Framework. Overall, this framework can be applied to support research and efforts to generate evidence, as well as to test and improve measures and methods for child and adolescent mental health.

Mainstreaming Psychosocial Care and Support through Child Participation

The Mainstreaming Psychosocial Care and Support through Child Participation was developed for programmes working with children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, poverty and conflict. Child participation is an inspiring approach to addressing the needs of children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, conflict and poverty. It brings new perspectives, energy and creativity to development programmes, while contributing directly to the psychosocial wellbeing of all involved. These guidelines are written for individuals working in or funding programmes working with vulnerable children. This resources is useful for project managers, trainers/counsellors, fieldworkers, donors, children involved in a development projec. The guidelines may be used as a training tool for organisations wishing to increase their focus on child participation.

MHPSS Key Message Bank for Children and Families in Emergencies

This is a ‘bank’ of key MHPSS messages on a range of topics for caregivers of children & adolescents. The messages can be used flexibly by humanitarian actors as they develop materials for campaigns, trainings, and programming. Teams can select messages as needed, design them locally and incorporate them into different program materials and activities. For example, teams may wish to use certain messages on posters at refugee border crossing points, another set of messages in leaflets for caregivers at reception centers, another set of messages for a radio campaign, and another set of messages in a reference document for CFS staff, nutrition workers, or health workers who may be faced with specific issues (e.g. grief, aggression). The document contains messages in English, Ukrainian, Polish, Spanish, Slovakian, Arabic, French, Czech, Armenian and Russian.

"Journey of Life" Community Workshops to Support Caregivers and Children in Need

The Journey of Life community workshops to support caregivers and children in need' is designed for communities wishing to support children in need and their caregivers. Using picture codes, personal testimonies and role plays, the workshops stimulate reflection, dialogue and action among participants. By taking them through their own life journey they are better able to understand the problems facing children in their care and in their community. Pictures and posters, a core feature of the resource, are designed to facilitate dialogue. Resource mapping and action plans provide communities with an opportunity to identify their capacities and begin to act on their collective responsibility towards these children. The Journey of Life comes with a variety of M&E tools, including forms for committee information, individual attitudinal changes, household changes, and workshop evaluations. GUIDES FOR PARTICIPANTS Main Workshop: Community Implementation Guide (includes Action Workshops 1, 2 and 3 on community parenting, supporting grieving children and teaching life skills to children) Action Workshops 4–7 at synergos.org Action Workshop 8: Ending human trafficking Action Workshop 9: Protecting our children from abuse GUIDES FOR FACILITATORS Main Workshop: Facilitator Training Guide (includes Action Workshops 1, 2 and 3 on community parenting, supporting grieving children and teaching life skills to children) Action Workshops 4-7 at synergos.org Action Workshop 8: Ending human trafficking Action Workshop 9: Protecting our children from abuse MONITORING AND EVALUATION CRS also aided in providing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools to help facilitators measure the change in attitudes and actions by the people who participated in their ""Journey of Life"" workshops. Though the workshops are designed for groups who work on child trafficking and child labor issues, the tools below can be adapted for other settings as well.

Young Children in Crisis Settings 6: Why Supporting Caregivers’ Mental Health in Crisis Settings is Essential for Young Children’s Holistic Development

The Young Children in Crisis Settings brief highlights the importance of supporting caregivers’ mental health in crisis settings to young children’s holistic development. It presents data on the severity of the global mental health crisis, which is being exacerbated by the lack of funding for psychosocial support for children, youth, and families. The brief focuses on why caregivers’ mental health matters in crisis settings and why it is critical to invest in and prioritize caregivers’ well-being and support in conflict and crisis-affected areas. It shares Illustrative examples of evidence-based interventions, that adopt a whole family approach to promote the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of caregivers, responsive caregiving, and early learning; and how humanitarian workers promote and protect the mental health and psychosocial well-being of caregivers.

Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support into Youth Programming: A Toolkit

The Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support into Youth Programming: A Toolkit provides strategies and tools for designing, implementing, and evaluating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programs and activities for youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and conflict-affected contexts. The Toolkit is a resource for standalone youth MHPSS programs and MHPSS activities that are integrated into cross-sectoral youth-focused programs (e.g., health, gender, and gender-based violence or GBV, workforce development/youth employment, education, violence prevention, peace, and stability, etc.). The Toolkit includes guidance based on good practice for MHPSS, with recommendations for adapting program designs to community needs and the local context.

Parenting and Adolescent Life Skills Programme

The Plan International’s global Parenting and Adolescent Life Skills (PALS) programme is developed for humanitarian teams who support adolescents and their caregivers in emergency and protracted crisis settings. The programme aims to equip adolescents aged 10 to 19 years and their caregivers with essential information, skills and resources to support adolescent health, safety and wellbeing in times of crisis. The programme has been developed in close collaboration with adolescents and caregivers in Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania. Through local consultations held between May and July 2019, adolescents and their caregivers shared valuable insights about their needs and priorities in relation to their wellbeing, and their existing resources and capacities to cope with crisis situations. In August 2019, the first life skills and parenting sessions were tested in Northeast Nigeria together with younger adolescents (10 to 14 years), older adolescents (15 to 19 years) and their parents/caregivers, supported by frontline staff. The complete PALS programme package includes the following resources: Life Skills curriculum: 13 Life Skills Session plans including facilitation notes Parenting curriculum: 10 Parenting Session plans including facilitation notes Resources for the facilitator to use in the sessions Monitoring and evaluation tools for the facilitator to use before, during and after the sessions Laughter and Play Manual with the games and creative exercises Implementation guide Tools to support implementation Training package with online and in-person learning modules

Ethical Research Involving Children

This Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC project) is an international project motivated by a shared international concern that the human dignity of children is honoured, and that their rights and well-being are respected in all research, regardless of context. To help meet this aim, the compendium acts as a tool to generate critical thinking, reflective dialogue and ethical decision-making, and to contribute to improved research practice with children across different disciplines, theoretical and methodological standpoints, and international contexts. Emphasis is placed on the need for a reflexive approach to research ethics that fosters dynamic, respectful relationships between researchers, children, families, communities, research organizations, and other stakeholders. Hence, the content of this ERIC compendium moves beyond prescriptive approaches to encourage a more critical engagement with ethical issues and contemporary research practices across the multiple sectors and national/international contexts in which these take place. ERIC has been developed to support all researchers, individuals and organizations who are involved in research that is undertaken with, or potentially impacts on, children. This includes researchers, all members of any research team, research organizations, other stakeholders and research ethics review committees.

Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health

The Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health is focused on primary prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) through physical activity at population level, and the primary target audience for these recommendations are policy-makers at national level. The recommendations set out in this document address three age groups: 5–17 years old; 18–64 years old; and 65 years old and above. A section focusing on each age group includes a narrative summary of scientific evidence, the current physical activity recommendations, and the interpretation and justification for the recommendations made.

How to Manage Negative Emotions

The How to Manage Negative Emotions is an infographic material with tips that can help children, parents, and teachers cope with a crisis situation. This one-page leaflet is available in both Czech and Ukrainian languages.

Girl Shine

The Girl Shine is a program model and resource package that seeks to support, protect, and empower adolescent girls in humanitarian settings. Girl Shine has been designed to help contribute to the improved prevention of and response to violence against adolescent girls in humanitarian settings by providing them with skills and knowledge to identify types of GBV and seek support services if they experience or are at risk of GBV. The Girl Shine program model and resource package can be used in multiple humanitarian settings, including conflict and natural disasters, as well as within the various phases of emergency response. It has been adapted to reflect the latest research findings on the experiences of adolescent girls in humanitarian settings, and the nature of GBV against adolescent girls. Included in the resource package are the following: Girl Shine: Advancing the field–designing girl-driven gender based violence programming in Humanitarian settings (Part 1) Girl Shine: Life skills curriculum (Part 2) Girl Shine: Caregiver curriculum (Part 3) Girl Shine: Mentor and facilitator training manual (Part 4)

My body. My Decision. My Right. curriculum for married adolescent girls and their male partners

The My body, my Decision, my Right: Curriculum for married adolescent girls and their male partners is a curricular were thoughtfully developed from reviews of numerous relevant resources and results of a formative research from a sample of 4000 adolescent girls and boys in Sierra Leone. The curriculum is used by the trained community facilitators to moderate safe space sessions of very young , older adolescents girls and boys and married or adolescent mothers and their partners. The curriculum promotes improved life skills, sexual and reproductive health education and empowerment for SGBV prevention.

Prospects for Children in 2022: A Global Outlook

The Prospects for Children in 2022: a Global Outlook is a UNICEF report that provides an in-depth analysis of trends and events impacting the rights and wellbeing of children across the globe. The report produces an outlook assessment on child wellbeing for the year 2022, analyzing key trends and their implications for children, including the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, political instability and conflict, growth of the digital economy, and the globalization of climate policies. The report finds that inequities brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, such as school closures, access to treatment, and learning losses, present growing challenges for children across the globe, and predict record global humanitarian needs in 2022, as the impacts of climate change increase. The report provides data and figures for each global trend impacting children and offers insight into the current state of child wellbeing, the implications, and mitigation strategies for ensuring wellbeing and survival for children in the future.

Road to Recovery: Responding to Children's Mental Health in Conflict

The briefing paper sets out the scale of mental health effects on children living in conflict zones and the role of education in responding to them. It reveals new data which shows millions of children living in war zones or forced to flee as refugees will require support to address mental illness caused by war. The new analysis contained in the paper reveals at least 24 million children require some form of mental health support to deal with conditions such as such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression or anxiety, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. In the face of an epidemic linked to the trauma of war, the international community must rapidly scale-up its response or risk losing a generation to the War on Children. This briefing paper looks at the options available to donor governments to better allocate aid to address the problem.

Young People’s Participation and Mental Health: A Protocol for Practitioners

The Young People’s Participation and Mental Health: A Protocol for Practitioners supports individual and organizational capacities to safeguard the mental health and psychosocial well-being of young people in participation processes, to ensure young people’s meaningful participation across programming, research, advocacy and communications. Developed by UNICEF's Adolescent Development and Participation team, the resource is intended for use by all individuals (including young people themselves) who plan or implement participatory processes with young people -- not only those in the mental health field.

Child Protection Issue Brief: Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children

The Child Protection Issue Brief: Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children presents recommendations for strong collaboration between specialists and sectors to ensure a holistic and child-centered response that fosters the well-being of displaced and refugee children. It aims to preserve and improve the well-being of displaced and refugee children by mainstreaming psychosocial support in all aspects of its work and implementing specific psychosocial support programmes. The mitigation of immediate and long-term risks and consequences for the mental health and psychosocial well-being of individuals, families and communities is a core part of UNHCR’s protection mandate.

Self-regulation for Children

The Self-regulation for Children is an infographic material with tips that can help children cope with a crisis situation. The infographic is divided with self-regulation tips into 3 age categories: 5-11 years; 5-18 years; 9-18 years old. This one-page leaflet is available in both Czech and Ukrainian languages.

Safeguarding in Sport and Sport for Development: A Practitioner’s Guide from Policy to Action

The Safeguarding in Sport and Sport for Development: A Practitioner’s Guide from Policy to Action provides a useful guide on how governments, sports confederations, organisations, clubs and individuals working in sport and Sport for Development can develop policies, guidelines and implement measures designed to safeguard children and vulnerable adults. The Safeguarding in Sport practitioner’s resource is a toolbox for organisations, facilitators - those who teach, coach or lead sporting activities, for parents and guardians and communities in Africa. It provides comprehensive guidance on developing safeguarding policies and practice in sport and sport for development contexts and is an important training resource for athletes, coaches and sports officials. Sport and Sport for Development is not just about the games. Sporting activities are used as a tool to engage target populations in programmes that work towards development goals such as peace promotion, gender equity, education, inclusion and health. To achieve this, effective safeguarding measures are essential to ensure that the right to participation in sport and physical activity in a safe and harm free environment for enjoyment – regardless of age, gender, origin or ability is fulfilled. This practitioner’s guide on Safeguarding in Sport and Sport for Development (S4D) Contexts is a product of an intensive and inclusive process that comprised a wide range of stakeholders. It has been developed in accordance with recognised best practice but with the African context in mind.

Youth Advocacy Toolkit

The Youth Advocacy toolkit is for any young person who wants to start their own advocacy campaign. If you are a teacher or a facilitator, you can also use this toolkit with your group to inspire them to work out which children’s rights issues they care about and how to go about creating the change they want to see. Youth-led advocacy is about supporting children and young people to speak up and helping them actively take part in the decisions that affect their lives. This toolkit will give you the skills and information you need to stand up for what is important to you. The Toolkit consists of: Youth Advocacy Guide and Youth Advocacy Guide Workplan.

Hopefully Healthy Happy Living Toolkit

Hopefully Healthy Happy Living Toolkit is a set of materials directed towards children, parents, caregivers and teachers in various settings, which promote psychosocial wellbeing and link with key life skills to strengthen social and emotional learning. The toolkit provides useful resources for families and school communities for current times in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also designed for broader reach too, being equally relevant to any kind of crisis or emergency in seeking to support the health, happiness and hopefulness of communities wherever they may be. There are three tools in this toolkit. They are: (1) the Guide for Teachers, (2) the Parent-Caregiver Guide and (3) the Activity Guide for Teachers, Parents and Children. 1. Guide for Teachers – This Guide has been designed for teachers supporting children in their return to school in the wake of the pandemic. It opens with a set of general group-building exercises, followed by themed activities focussing on 16 key life skills supporting the personal, cognitive and interpersonal development of children. The exercises are suitable for a wide range of different age groups from pre-school to secondary school. The exercises could also be combined with sports and leisure activities in clubs or community centres, and in safe spaces for children in humanitarian settings. 2. Parent-Caregiver Guide – This booklet has been developed for parents and caregivers and is designed to provide guidance and inspiration around psychosocial wellbeing in the household in the face of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. It features six fictional families from different corners of the world who are facing challenges in their lives in the course of dealing with COVID-19. Positive messages to encourage parents and caregivers in the care of their children at this demanding time are given such as structuring the day, taking time to check in with one another, using positive discipline, talking about loss, dealing with stigma, and protecting children online. At the end of the guide, there is a useful checklist for the whole household to help everyone reflect on how they are doing as a family. There is also a set of prompts for families who wish to make a COVID-19 hero book. 3. Activity Guide – This Guide for Teachers, Parents and Children features fun activities for children at home, in school or for remote use. In a home learning environment, for example, the activities could be done with a sibling group. Each activity is flagged as best done with a group or whether it may be adapted for use with a single child. The activities have been carefully designed to engage with children in relation to social and emotional learning around self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and decision-making.

Magnificent Mei

The Magnificent Mei comics and an accompanying Teacher’s Guide were created to support social and emotional learning among adolescents. By promoting social and emotional learning and skills practice, the Comic Book and Teacher’s Guide aim to help promote psychosocial well-being, prevent mental health conditions, and reduce risky behaviours in adolescents. The Magnificent Mei and Friends Comic Book is for adolescents aged 10-14 years. Through a combination of images and text, the Comic intends to engage and shape students’ attitudes by promoting empathy and critical thinking. As a form of storytelling, the Comic presents real-life scenarios and situations young adolescents may face in their everyday lives. Seeing comparable experiences through fictional characters’ eyes can help validate the feelings of young people and let them know they are not alone. Combined with classroom-based activities and lessons, comics can be an effective tool to support students’ social and emotional learning.

The Nine Basic Requirements for Meaningful and Ethical Children’s Participation

The Nine Basic Requirements for Meaningful and Ethical Child Participation provides guidance on how to have meaningful child participation safely and ethically. This is a key tool for ensuring quality child participation in any initiative with children. It is presented in an easy-to-read colorful format and includes checklists and simple tools for easy access and use. They help to improve quality across global programs, advocacy, and campaigns. Further, they help ensure children’s voices are heard and respected.