Online NGO Dialogue: Mainstreaming Mental Health and Psychosocial Support across refugee responses in Europe
Online NGO Dialogue: Mainstreaming Mental Health and Psychosocial Support across refugee responses in Europe
UNHCR local partner, Proliska is hosting psychosocial support for adults and children at the ‘Hostyna’ collective site. These weekly sessions and one-to-one counselling sessions help evacuees and IDPs to manage the stress, trauma and anxiety of war and displacement. Some of the main worries facing those staying at the centre include their damaged homes and the difficulties of family separation.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) encompasses the range of interventions undertaken to address psychological distress and promote well-being. It is a critical component of protection and solutions for refugees, asylum-seekers, returnees, stateless individuals, and internally displaced people, who are often significantly impacted due to conflict, persecution, displacement, dangerous journeys and exclusion.
In Europe, displaced populations face significant MHPSS challenges, including legal and administrative barriers to care, language difficulties, and limited access to both community-based psychosocial support and specialized services. Stigma surrounding mental health further compounds these challenges, contributing to underreporting and making it difficult to fully assess the scale and complexity of needs.
In light of this and to complement specialized MHPSS activities, UNHCR underscores the need for an integrated, multi-sectoral approach that aims at mainstreaming MHPSS outcomes across all interventions, including within protection, health, shelter, livelihoods, and education, to ensure that as many people as possible can be reached. Such an approach is critical for shaping and delivering services that enhance prevention, awareness and access to MHPSS care while reducing stigma. By leveraging their reach, expertise, and community trust, NGOs are indispensable in mainstreaming MHPSS and fostering holistic, inclusive support for displaced individuals across Europe.
This Regional Dialogue will be an opportunity to:
Discuss how to further mainstream MHPSS across protection interventions.
Showcase NGOs’ experiences and good practices.
Hear from NGOs and develop concrete recommendations on how UNHCR and NGOs can better support each other.
Further details, including the full concept note and agenda, are available here. Register for the event by completing this formLink is external.