Practical Guidelines on Psychosocial Health and Wellbeing

The war in Ukraine is forcing millions of people, including children, to leave their country and seek refuge far from their homes. They are all fleeing experiences that produce social and psychological wounds which, if not managed in a timely fashion, seriously affect their long- term health and well-being and reduce their capacity to look after themselves and their loved ones.

The response to the crisis has been overwhelming and has been made possible by the decision of governments to open their frontiers to refugees with or without visas. This, in turn, is being helped by the outpouring of support from thousands of volunteers, health and social workers and host families in these countries.

Because many of these volunteers, health and social workers and host families may have little experience dealing with situations of this kind, a series of PRACTICAL GUIDELINES has been produced by ICMHD to support them in their work. They build on a long body of experience dealing with the psychosocial impact of conflicts and natural disasters and the needs of the people caught up in them. This particular set of guidelines is designed for use by families that are hosting refugees and recognizes the uniquely important role played by host families, and the complexity of the challenges they may have to deal with. The guidelines are not meant to be prescriptive, but rather seek to provide ideas on how to respond to what are likely to be new circumstances, new questions and new demands on host families.