Sri Lanka: Mental Healing

Indonesia: After Fifteen Years of Suffering, an Epileptic’s Life is Transformed

Worldwide, some 450 million people suffer from a mental or behavioral disorder, yet only a small percentage have access to even the most basic treatment. In developing countries, most community members with severe mental disorders are simply left to suffer with private burdens such as depression, dementia, schizophrenia, and substance dependence. Many are victimized because of their illness and become targets of stigma and discrimination.

On this site we hope to give you a look into the mental health side of medical relief work. If you would like to help IMC with its psychosocial treatment and training programs, please visit www.imcworldwide.org.

International Medical Corps has been implementing psychosocial programs since 1993, but in 2003 began training primary health care providers to integrate mental health into their work, enabling them to identify and treat mental health problems. In addition, IMC sets up a variety of psychosocial support programs for the wider community depending on its needs.

Traditionally, humanitarian relief agencies have not prioritized mental health care as a significant part of their activities, despite the widely recognized need. In fact, people recover faster when their mental health needs are being met, making it crucial that they be addressed early after a crisis or disaster.

IMC Position Paper

IMC Capability Statement

LINKS:

The World Health Organization's (WHO) Newly Launched Mental Health Site

A recent editorial:
The British Medical Journal: Mental Health in Disaster Settings

VIDEO: DRC
After a decade of civil war, often called Africa's worst civil conflict, trauma is both physical and psychological.

IMC is a founding
member of