Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) is a spectrum of support services available to refugee and newcomer clients. Services can range from broad social-emotional support, via wellness groups and creative activities, to clinical behavioral health interventions focused on reducing symptoms of mental illness. MHPSS services can be embedded in resettlement, integrated into health clinics, provided in community settings, or accessed through specialty clinics. Service providers can vary in training and technical knowledge, spanning multiple disciplines. Despite these differences, the unifying aim of MHPSS services is to promote healing and connection among newcomers, helping them to thrive.
This guide is a framework for onboarding new MHPSS service providers, whether they are experienced mental health clinicians new to serving refugee populations or novice caseworkers setting out to support newcomers through psychosocial services in resettlement. This guide can be customized to meet new staff members’ specific needs and includes organization-specific training. It shares reading materials, recorded webinars, and other resources to complement your organization or program’s onboarding activities, which may include training under supervisors, shadowing colleagues, reviewing procedural materials and organization policies, and conducting case consultations and/or case conferences.
