Mental Health in Humanitarian Emergency

Wars, disasters, famines, and other humanitarian emergencies expose people to extreme stress and trauma and create massive and pressing humanitarian and mental health (MH) needs. This chapter examines the immediate and long-term impact of a humanitarian crisis on MH and identifies systemic issues affecting access to resources, functioning, and coping. MH has been recognized as a global priority because of its decisive impact on health, well-being, functioning, and coping of people affected by humanitarian emergencies. In addition to being a factor of survival, MH becomes a matter of public health and human rights and plays a key role in improving access to health care, reducing global burden of burden, preventing future violence, and strengthening resilience in the face of adversity. Other factors ensuring survival. The global perspective has challenged assumptions of centrality and universality of some concepts in Western MH. The shift from pathologizing reactions to adversity to focusing on overcoming, resilience, and supporting coping has been particularly noticeable in global work and trauma studies. Common misconceptions about MH and trauma in humanitarian emergencies illustrate the importance of understanding the context of humanitarian work.