People react to crises in diverse ways, influenced by the impact’s severity and their personal coping resources, which are shaped by factors like age, gender, social support, and mental wellbeing. Psychosocial interventions aim to boost mental and emotional wellbeing, proving especially vital in fragile settings. Community psychosocial intervention strengthens individual, family, and community resilience, helping people navigate adversity and preventing mental health issues during and after emergencies. A core belief is that affected communities inherently possess the capacity to recover from distress. The WHO supports this, suggesting most trauma survivors can recover with proper support.
Tearfund’s community-based psychosocial intervention package normalises trauma reactions by creating safe spaces for emotional expression. It reinforces existing healthy coping behaviours and introduces new ones. Tailored for communities enduring chronic poverty and protracted crises, particularly in fragile contexts, this intervention addresses profound needs.
The programme delivers nine guided group sessions, each 90 minutes to 2 hours long, facilitated by non-specialist staff for up to 12 participants. A pre-group individual session is also included. These sessions target common psychological difficulties like anxiety, depression, and stress reactions that cause distress but might not be diagnosed as mental disorders. The main goal is to strengthen community resilience by improving positive coping, fostering acceptance of difficult emotions, enhancing emotional regulation, promoting behavioural activation, improving communication, encouraging positive parenting, rebuilding social connections, and cultivating self-compassion. The interventions are also faith-sensitive, with skills reinforced weekly to improve overall wellbeing.
The methodology trains community leaders and members to deliver the intervention, empowering them with tools to identify and support those needing emotional and psychological help, and to make appropriate referrals. This community-based PSS programme is most effective when integrated into wider community systems, including support mechanisms, livelihood programmes, and health services. Such integrated approaches reach more people and reduce stigma, ultimately decreasing overall psychosocial distress in affected populations.
