Advanced Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Training Course

Course Overview

The Advanced Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Training Course is a comprehensive professional development program designed to strengthen the knowledge and practical competencies of humanitarian professionals, healthcare providers, government institutions, NGOs, UN agencies, community organizations, and development practitioners involved in delivering mental health and psychosocial support services. The course equips participants with advanced skills in mental health promotion, psychosocial support programming, psychological first aid, trauma-informed care, psychosocial assessments, crisis intervention, community resilience, protection integration, case management, and evidence-based mental health interventions. Participants gain practical knowledge to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate high-quality MHPSS programs that promote resilience, recovery, and well-being among individuals and communities affected by conflict, disasters, displacement, emergencies, and other humanitarian crises.

Mental health and psychosocial support have become essential components of humanitarian response, disaster risk management, public health systems, and sustainable development initiatives. This course explores international standards and best practices for integrating MHPSS into emergency preparedness, humanitarian action, health systems strengthening, child protection, gender-based violence prevention and response, education, livelihoods, peacebuilding, and community development programs. Participants learn to apply the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, develop culturally appropriate interventions, strengthen referral systems, and improve multidisciplinary coordination while ensuring ethical service delivery, confidentiality, safeguarding, and accountability to affected populations.

Throughout the training, participants develop practical competencies in psychological first aid, psychosocial assessment tools, mental health screening, stress management, resilience building, counseling techniques, supportive supervision, case documentation, monitoring and evaluation, digital mental health solutions, and community-based psychosocial programming. Practical exercises, simulations, and case studies provide participants with hands-on experience in designing inclusive MHPSS interventions that respond effectively to the needs of children, adolescents, women, older persons, persons with disabilities, refugees, internally displaced persons, survivors of violence, and other vulnerable populations while promoting recovery, social cohesion, and community resilience.

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be equipped to lead comprehensive Mental Health and Psychosocial Support programs, strengthen organizational preparedness and response capacity, improve service quality, integrate MHPSS across humanitarian and development sectors, support evidence-based programming, enhance staff well-being, and contribute to resilient communities through sustainable mental health interventions. The acquired competencies enable organizations to improve program effectiveness, safeguard vulnerable populations, strengthen inter-agency collaboration, and promote holistic recovery and long-term psychosocial well-being.

Course Objectives

1.     Understand advanced concepts and principles of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).

2.     Design and implement comprehensive MHPSS programs in humanitarian and development settings.

3.     Apply Psychological First Aid (PFA) and trauma-informed approaches during emergencies.

4.     Conduct mental health and psychosocial needs assessments using standardized tools.

5.     Strengthen case management, referral pathways, and multidisciplinary coordination.

6.     Integrate MHPSS into protection, health, education, and community development programs.

7.     Develop community-based resilience and psychosocial support interventions.

8.     Monitor, evaluate, and improve MHPSS program performance using evidence-based approaches.

9.     Promote staff well-being, stress management, and burnout prevention.

10.  Strengthen organizational capacity to deliver ethical, inclusive, and sustainable mental health services.

Organizational Benefits

1.     Improved quality of mental health and psychosocial support services.

2.     Enhanced organizational capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies.

3.     Stronger integration of MHPSS across humanitarian and development programs.

4.     Improved protection and well-being of vulnerable populations.

5.     Increased staff competence in psychological first aid and trauma-informed care.

6.     Enhanced coordination with health, protection, education, and social service providers.

7.     Better monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of MHPSS interventions.

8.     Reduced psychosocial risks through effective prevention and early intervention strategies.

9.     Strengthened organizational resilience, staff wellness, and duty of care.

10.  Increased compliance with international humanitarian standards and donor requirements.

Target Participants

This course is designed for Mental Health Professionals, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Counselors, Social Workers, Psychosocial Support Officers, Community Health Workers, Public Health Professionals, Humanitarian Program Managers, Protection Officers, Child Protection Specialists, Gender-Based Violence Specialists, Case Managers, Medical Officers, Nurses, Emergency Response Teams, Education Officers, Peacebuilding Practitioners, Livelihood Officers, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists, MEAL Officers, NGO Staff, UN Agency Personnel, Government Officials, Faith-Based Organizations, Community Leaders, Development Practitioners, Human Rights Officers, Refugee Response Coordinators, Disaster Risk Management Specialists, and professionals engaged in mental health and psychosocial support programming.

Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

·       Principles of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

·       IASC MHPSS Guidelines

·       Mental health concepts and terminology

·       Humanitarian MHPSS framework

·       Psychosocial well-being determinants

·       Rights-based and ethical approaches

General Case Study: Developing an integrated MHPSS framework for a humanitarian emergency response.

Module 2: Mental Health Assessment and Psychosocial Needs Analysis

·       Mental health assessment tools

·       Psychosocial needs assessment

·       Risk and vulnerability analysis

·       Community mapping

·       Mental health screening

·       Data collection and interpretation

General Case Study: Conducting a psychosocial assessment following a natural disaster.

Module 3: Psychological First Aid and Crisis Intervention

·       Principles of Psychological First Aid

·       Crisis communication

·       Immediate psychosocial support

·       Stabilization techniques

·       Referral procedures

·       Ethical emergency interventions

General Case Study: Delivering Psychological First Aid during a displacement crisis.

Module 4: Trauma-Informed Care and Counseling Approaches

·       Trauma-informed care principles

·       Counseling skills

·       Active listening techniques

·       Coping and recovery strategies

·       Emotional regulation support

·       Survivor-centered approaches

General Case Study: Supporting survivors of traumatic events using trauma-informed interventions.

Module 5: Community-Based Mental Health Programming

·       Community mobilization

·       Resilience building

·       Peer support groups

·       Community engagement strategies

·       Social cohesion initiatives

·       Inclusive psychosocial interventions

General Case Study: Establishing community-based psychosocial support networks.

Module 6: MHPSS for Vulnerable Populations

·       Child and adolescent mental health

·       Support for women and girls

·       Older persons' psychosocial needs

·       Disability-inclusive MHPSS

·       Refugees and internally displaced persons

·       Survivor support services

General Case Study: Designing specialized psychosocial interventions for vulnerable populations.

Module 7: Case Management and Referral Systems

·       Case identification

·       Individual care planning

·       Referral pathway development

·       Multidisciplinary coordination

·       Case documentation

·       Follow-up and case closure

General Case Study: Strengthening referral systems for comprehensive mental health services.

Module 8: Integrating MHPSS Across Sectors

·       MHPSS in health programs

·       MHPSS in education

·       Protection integration

·       Livelihood and resilience programming

·       Disaster risk reduction

·       Peacebuilding and social cohesion

General Case Study: Integrating psychosocial support into multi-sector humanitarian programming.

Module 9: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for MHPSS

·       MHPSS indicators

·       Monitoring frameworks

·       Outcome measurement

·       Data quality assurance

·       Learning and adaptive programming

·       Reporting and accountability

General Case Study: Developing an MHPSS monitoring and evaluation framework.

Module 10: Staff Care and Organizational Well-Being

·       Staff wellness strategies

·       Burnout prevention

·       Stress management

·       Supportive supervision

·       Occupational mental health

·       Duty of care policies

General Case Study: Implementing organizational staff wellness and resilience initiatives.

Module 11: Digital Innovation in Mental Health

·       Digital mental health platforms

·       Tele-mental health services

·       Mobile psychosocial applications

·       Electronic case management

·       Digital confidentiality

·       Emerging technologies in MHPSS

General Case Study: Utilizing digital solutions to expand access to psychosocial support services.

Module 12: Strategic Leadership in MHPSS Programs

·       Strategic planning

·       Policy development

·       Resource mobilization

·       Partnership and coordination

·       Quality improvement

·       Sustainability planning

General Case Study: Developing a comprehensive Mental Health and Psychosocial Support strategy for a humanitarian organization.

General Information

1.     Customized Training: All our courses can be tailored to meet the specific needs of participants.

2.     Language Proficiency: Participants should have a good command of the English language.

3.     Comprehensive Learning: Our training includes well-structured presentations, practical exercises, web-based tutorials, and collaborative group work. Our facilitators are seasoned experts with over a decade of experience.

4.     Certification: Upon successful completion of training, participants will receive a certificate from Foscore Development Center (FDC-K).

5.     Training Locations: Training sessions are conducted at Foscore Development Center (FDC-K) centers. We also offer options for in-house and online training, customized to the client's schedule.

6.     Flexible Duration: Course durations are adaptable, and content can be adjusted to fit the required number of days.

7.     Onsite Training Inclusions: The course fee for onsite training covers facilitation, training materials, two coffee breaks, a buffet lunch, and a Certificate of Successful Completion. Participants are responsible for their travel expenses, airport transfers, visa applications, dinners, health/accident insurance, and personal expenses.

8.     Additional Services: Accommodation, pickup services, freight booking, and visa processing arrangements are available upon request at discounted rates.

9.     Equipment: Tablets and laptops can be provided to participants at an additional cost.

10.  Post-Training Support: We offer one year of free consultation and coaching after the course.

11.  Group Discounts: Register as a group of more than two and enjoy a discount ranging from 10% to 50%.

12.  Payment Terms: Payment should be made before the commencement of the training or as mutually agreed upon, to the Foscore Development Center account. This ensures better preparation for your training.

13.  Contact Us: For any inquiries, please reach out to us at training@fdc-k.org or call us at +254712260031.

14.  Website: Visit our website at www.fdc-k.org for more information.