World Mental Health Day: Healing the invisible wounds

MSF doctors and nurses are often seen treating physical ailments. But for people who have lived through terrible events and difficult health conditions, the psychological consequences can be severe.   Today, mental healthcare is considered as an integral part of most of...

Lebanon: Overlapping crises in Lebanon increase needs and worsen access to care

Since late 2019, Lebanon has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades, social unrest and political turmoil. On top of that, and following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020, a major explosion tore through the capital, Beirut, in...

Lebanon: “I needed to make myself useful to overcome the panic”

MSF psychologist Sara Tannouri looks back at the blast that devastated her home city of Beirut, Lebanon two months ago and its impact on people’s mental wellbeing, including her own.   4 August 2020 at 6.08 pm. I was just about to...

Bihar: “Corona, corona, give our ball back!”

Challenges, fears and stigma of working on the frontline of COVID-19 in India. A blog by Smriti Singh* The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a unique challenge before frontline workers — it is to strike a balance between helping patients cope...

Iraq: Yazidi community suffers one crisis after another

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on the Yazidi community in the Sinjar district of northwest Iraq. Although there are not many cases recorded in the area, the restrictive measures adopted in Iraq (as in many other countries worldwide) to curb...

India

Mental Health Helpline The recent COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in unprecedented challenges to all countries across the world. The difference in magnitude of infected cases and mortality reflects the capacity, preparedness and political commitment of different countries. The pandemic has...

Mental health helpline for people affected by COVID-19 pandemic

Mental Health Helpline The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in unprecedented challenges to all countries across the world. The difference in magnitude of infected cases and mortality reflects the capacity, preparedness and political commitment of different countries. The pandemic has also...

Jammu and Kashmir: Pre-existing mental health needs, Kashmir and COVID-19

Ajaz Ahmad Sofi, Clinical Psychologist at MSF mental health care project in Jammu and Kashmir writes how our teams are working to meet a huge need for psychological support in the valley. "Complaints related to mental health are not new...

Three ways to cope with stress and anxiety during an epidemic

Are you in self-isolation? Is your mind surrounded by information related to the epidemic/pandemic? In difficult times, like during a pandemic, many people start feeling stressed, anxious and have other overwhelming emotions. MSF Psychologist Sharika Amin offers three ways to...

“They suffer in silence”: Meeting mental healthcare needs of refugees in Bangladesh

“Men can spend time outdoors; the women have to spend most of their time in their shacks. There is no privacy or physical space where they can be alone,” says Pooja Iyer, MSF’s mental health manager at the Jamtoli and...

Médecins Sans Frontiéres & IMHANS, Kashmir trains medical staff on psychological first aid

Srinagar, 8 October 2016: The international medical humanitarian organisation - Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres (MSF) in collaboration with Institute of Mental and Neuro Sciences (IMHANS) Kashmir conducted on 8 October 2016 at the Community Centre - a training workshop on psychological...

Conflict tears into Kashmir’s mental health