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What is MHPSS?

The Community-Based (CB) MHPSS approach builds on the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Guidelines in Emergencies and is directly linked to the nine commitments in the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) on quality and accountability to assure principled, accountable, and high-quality humanitarian assistance. It can be mainstreamed into both humanitarian and development projects.

CB-MHPSS Essentials

The CB-MHPSS approach builds on community capacities, promoting a shift in power from agency-led to community-led responses, and ensures that affected populations are actively involved in the design and delivery of support.

”Community-based MHPSS supports communities as drivers for their own care and helps restore collective structures and systems essential to individual and collective well-being. Community-engagement is essential in localization efforts for sustainability and community resilience.” (Multi-agency MHPSS Advocacy paper, p9)

Within Act Church of Sweden, and the ACT Alliance as a whole, CB-MHPSS involves supporting communities to identify their needs and resources, and to plan and implement strategies they consider appropriate to their circumstances. External support is offered where necessary, building on existing local capacities, with the intention of enabling the community to be self-sustaining. This approach has been demonstrated to strengthen self-efficacy and community-efficacy, as well as social connectedness and social cohesion, all of which promote recovery from distressing events and strengthen the ability to manage ongoing and future stressors.

MHPSS Pyramid

In emergency contexts and beyond, people will need to access different types of support in order to not only survive, but thrive. To address this range of needs, MHPSS is conceptualised through four complementary layers of services, each targeting different groups and levels of need. This layered approach is illustrated in the “MHPSS Intervention Pyramid” (IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings).

Layer 1 of the MHPSS intervention pyramid focuses on ensuring access to basic services and security, delivered in a way that respects the dignity and wellbeing of the affected population. This foundational layer represents the kind of assistance everyone needs in an emergency, regardless of their individual circumstances.

Layer 2 activities focus on strengthening families and the community to be able to care for their people and adjust to the new circumstances. Activities at this level aim to promote social cohesion, building upon existing community capacities, and strengthening social support networks

Layer 3 includes targeted interventions for people with higher levels of distress, which cannot be alleviated through community and family support alone. Activities at this level are provided by staff and community actors who are trained and supervised, but who are not necessarily specialised mental health professionals (e.g. teachers, religious leaders, community volunteers).

Finally, Layer 4 of the MHPSS Intervention pyramid focuses on specialised mental health care, primarily from psychologists or psychiatrists, for the small percentage of individuals in crisis settings who require clinical support. This type of service is not typically provided by Act Church of Sweden partners, but it is important to support referral pathways to specialised services for those in need.

The MHPSS Core Principles are outlined in the IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings and are integrated into activities at each level of the pyramid.

The core principles are:

1. Human Rights and Equity

2. Participation

3. Do No Harm

4. Building on Available Resources and Capacities

5. Integrated Support Systems

6. Multi-Layered Supports

Find more details on the Core Principles in the downloadable document.

Why CB-MHPSS?

”MHPSS not only addresses the profound psychological distress caused by crises but also enhances the effectiveness of the continuum of care across different areas of work, including health, nutrition, education, protection, and livelihoods. Evidence shows that MHPSS contributes to improved resilience, learning outcomes, treatment adherence, and community cohesion, making it a powerful accelerator of recovery and development.” (Multi-agency MHPSS Advocacy paper, p9) 

Community-based MHPSS recognises that local actors are the first to respond in situations of crisis or adversity, and they have the greatest knowledge of local resources, language, beliefs, and associated coping strategies, culture and geography. Helping to restore collective structures and systems essential to individual and collective well-being, as well as integrating MHPSS into ongoing activities conducted by community actors and others is effective in terms of sustainability and community resilience. Act Church of Sweden, and other ACT Alliance partners, work with communities to provide the support they need to plan and implement activities to promote and protect their own mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

Training & Learning

Act Church of Sweden has particular expertise in the field of community-based MHPSS, which in the past was called Community Based Psychosocial Support (CBPS). Here you can access E-Learnings and Trainings which were developed to give an introduction to the topic of CBPS.