Mental Health
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Mental Health
URC demonstrates extensive experience and capabilities in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), implementing innovative approaches and impactful initiatives across diverse global settings. This comprehensive expertise is demonstrated through URC’s involvement in projects that integrate mental health into broader healthcare and community settings, addressing the needs of individuals and healthcare providers alike.
Addressing Mental Health through Our Work
The USAID Health Services Quality Accelerator Activity in Jordan exemplifies URC’s work integrating mental health into healthcare services. This project focuses on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) outcomes while pioneering integration of mental health support into patient care and promoting resilience in healthcare providers.
The Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program Eswatini, which supports military and civilian populations through a network of 10 military clinics, has fully integrated mental health management in key interventions that include HIV testing, HIV care and treatment, and gender-based violence.
Through the USAID HEARD Project, URC created the Implementation Science Collaborative, a global mechanism that aligns research with policy and practice to accelerate the application of evidence in mental health interventions. Conducting a landscape analysis of community-based mental health interventions around the world, URC leverages a multi-stakeholder partnership to address mental health needs effectively.
In the Philippines, the USAID RenewHealth project expanded access to community-based drug rehabilitation (CBDR), underscoring URC’s role in building local government capacities to offer evidence-based and compassionate treatment. The project team developed innovative solutions like the Lusog-Isip mobile app that provides self-help tools and mental health resources to users, reflecting URC’s adaptability in using technology to meet mental health needs. RenewHealth showcases URC’s comprehensive approach, including screening, treatment, and reintegration services, effectively addressing the need to integrate mental health in substance use through Community-Based Mental Health support (CBMH).
The USAID ASSIST Project further illustrates URC’s global reach and system strengthening approaches, improving health outcomes through enhancing the delivery and quality of health and social services, workforce performance, and community-health facility linkages in 46 countries. During the Zika epidemic, URC worked with Ministries of Health in 13 Latin America and Caribbean countries to develop psychosocial guidelines and to train health care staff on providing psychosocial support to their patients. Health provider mental and physical self-care were major components of the trainings.
Our Commitment to Mental Health
URC employs a multifaceted approach to mental health and psychosocial support, implementing comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based interventions. URC’s efforts in integrating mental health into primary health care and specialized services, leveraging the power of community-based approaches in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, innovating with technology in providing mental health support, and engaging in global partnerships illustrate its profound impact on enhancing mental health outcomes and building resilient health systems worldwide.
URC’s proactive stance on mental health, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s exacerbation of global mental health issues, showcases its commitment to addressing the interrelationship between biological, psychological, and social conditions affecting mental and physical health. URC emphasizes the importance of supporting healthcare providers’ mental and emotional well-being, recognizing the critical role they play in delivering quality care.
URC’s involvement in global discussions and technical consultations on mental health, including its significant contribution to addressing mental health needs through strengthening health systems in conflict-affected areas like Ukraine, underscores its leadership in making mental health a global priority. URC’s systems approach to mental health interventions, drawing on best practices and lessons learned, offers hope and strategic direction for addressing mental health challenges worldwide.
URC’s extensive experience and innovative projects across different regions demonstrate its leading role in mental health and psychosocial support. By focusing on community-based interventions, healthcare provider support, and integrating mental health into broader health systems, URC is at the forefront of creating more resilient, inclusive, and supportive environments for mental health care globally.
