Providing Psychosocial Support 
                                      through Training, 
                      Information Sharing, and 
                     Capacity Building in Japan
                                      Dr. Inka Weissbecker, PhD, MPH
                   Global Mental Health and Psychosocial Advisor
                                           International Medical Corps
                     Response to the Japan 
                     Disaster
       International Medical Corps Emergency 
        Response Team arrived March 13th
       Mental health and psychosocial support 
        identified as urgent need
       Response coordinated with national 
        authorities and local coordination bodies
                                                                      3
             Dissemination of best 
             practices and guidelines
    Challenge: Best practices in MHPSS often not 
      known or overlooked in emergencies
    IMC Response:
     Distributed IASC guidelines in 
      Japanese (over 12 organizations, 
      more than 482 people).
     Funded translation requested by 
      Japanese National Institute of Mental 
      Health (NIMH) of IASC MHPSS 
      guidelines for the health sector
     Organized workshops on IASC 
      guidelines for Japanese mental 
      health workers together with NIMH 
            Psychological First Aid 
            is…
    Recommended for helpers (e.g. relief workers) in 
      conflict and crisis situations
    A non-intrusive way of providing psychosocial 
      support which teaches:
     Doing no harm
     Normal reactions to stress and loss
     Listening in a supportive way
     Coping strategies
     Ways of linking people to needed services 
      including specialized referral for those 
      experiencing severe distress
     Staff self-care
               Training in Psychological 
               Fist Aid
    Challenge: Disaster responders often lack knowledge 
      of how to respond to distress of affected population
    IMC Response:
     Provided Training of Trainers for our 
      local partner organization TELL in 
      PFA and adapted PFA training to 
      local context
     Trained 85 phone counselors from 
      TELL and other organizations in PFA
     Disseminated PFA handouts to five 
      major relief organizations working in 
      Japan (reaching over 4,000 people)