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.

Caring for Child Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Guidelines for Health and Psychosocial Service Providers in Humanitarian Settings

The Caring for Child Survivors (CCS) of Sexual Abuse Guidelines is part of the CCS Resource Package developed to respond to the gap in global guidance for health and psychosocial staff providing care and treatment to child survivors of sexual abuse in humanitarian settings. It provides guidance on how to: (1) Build the capacity of health and psychosocial service providers on the foundational (or “core”) knowledge, attitudes and skills to work with child survivors of sexual abuse; (2) Adapt case management for child survivors; (3) Implement targeted psychosocial interventions; (4) Improve coordinated care across multiple sectors and service providers; and (5) Monitor the quality of service provision. The CCS Guidelines are based on global research and evidence-based field practice and bring a much-needed practical approach to helping child survivors and their families recover and heal from the often-times devastating impacts of sexual abuse.

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.

Baby Friendly Spaces Holistic Approach for Pregnant, Lactating Women and their very young children in Emergency

The Baby Friendly Spaces (BFS) is a model of intervention for a holistic psychosocial program that aims at providing comprehensive support to children and their caregivers who are facing emergency situations. This document aims to explain WHY and HOW to implement Baby Friendly Spaces and includes seven chapters: • The first chapter is a more theoretical section presenting the six care practices. It includes basic information on each care practice, on the way appropriate childcare practices are reinforced/maintained in the BFS setting. • The second chapter describes the different steps for the operational implementation of Baby Friendly Spaces • The third chapter focuses on the various activities that can be developed in BFS, with the different implementation steps • The fourth chapter is dedicated to non-breastfed infants. The chapter describes which kind of intervention should be implemented for these children and their caregivers • The fifth chapter is a detailed and technical guidance for breastfeeding and child feeding • The sixth chapter is focused on Infant and Young Child Feeding related to HIV • The last chapter gives information on how to manage unsolicited and unmonitored distribution of Breast Milk Substitute Throughout the manual, reflections will be presented on how to adapt Baby Friendly Spaces to a wide variety of local situations and cultural context specificities.

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.

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.

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.

Engaged and Heard! Guidelines on Adolescent Participation and Civic Engagement

The ENGAGED AND HEARD! Guidelines on Adolescent Participation and Civic Engagement was developed to enhance systematic programming and advocacy to realize adolescents’ right to be heard in matters affecting them. The guidelines provide information on the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how-to’ of participation and civic engagement, with a specific focus on adolescents. The main sections include guidance on: Conceptual understanding, Main strategies and key interventions , Organizational commitment and processes, and Monitoring and evaluation. The appendices provide sector-specific guidelines for adolescent participation in: Health, WASH, Nutrition and HIV; Education; Child protection, care and justice; Disaster risk reduction, climate change and environmental protection; and Peacebuilding and humanitarian response.

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.

Working with Other Sectors to Enhance Outcomes of MHPSS of Child Protection: An Introductory Guide for Child Protection Practitioners (Field Test Version 1.0)

The Working with Other Sectors to Enhance Outcomes of MHPSS of Child Protection guide is intended to help child protection practitioners to advocate for the best interests of the child in all arenas and seek out ways in which all sectors can contribute to the protection and well-being of children. The guide is a helpful tool for facilitating productive conversations with colleagues from different sectors and may also be useful for case managers faced with the challenge of navigating between sectors to find the best solution for individual children and families. The guide links child protection to Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Education in Emergencies, Gender-based violence, Health, Mine Action, Nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.

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.

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.

Manual For The Integration Of Child Care Practices And Mental Health Into Nutrition Programs

Manual For The Integration Of Child Care Practices And Mental Health Into Nutrition Programs was developed to promote the integration of mental health and child care practices within nutrition. This technical guide offers a set of concrete actions and practical orientations to combine focus on prevention and treatment of severe malnutrition with mental health and child care practices. Everyone are encouraged to apply these practices in the Therapeutic Feeding Centre (TFCs) during admissions, playtime or mealtime, and during outpatient treatment. This document can help nutrition program experts to implement child care practices through simple actions. It is presented as a step-by-step tool-kit.

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.

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.

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.

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.