Advocacy
IHPAC runs task forces that respond to situations where war and conflict are affecting the mental health of children and the professionals who support them. Each one works through partnerships with organisations on the ground, building capacity that lasts beyond the immediate crisis.
Ukraine Task Force
The IHPAC Ukraine Task Force was established in 2022 in response to the escalating war in Ukraine and its effect on the mental health of children, families and the professionals who support them. Its aim is to strengthen access to evidence-based paediatric and child mental health knowledge through international collaboration, capacity building and lasting partnerships with Ukrainian professionals and organisations.
Central to this work has been the collaboration with the Ukrainian non-governmental organisation Voices of Children on the webinar series "Promoting Evidence-Based Paediatric Psychology and Resilience in Ukraine". The series gave Ukrainian psychologists and other mental health professionals training on anxiety, depression, trauma, risk assessment, sleep, neurodevelopmental disorders, eating disorders, supporting caregivers and psychopharmacology.
The collaboration has continued through knowledge exchange, professional training and research, and has since been formalised as a partnership between IHPAC and Voices of Children. The Task Force works on both the immediate needs and the longer task of supporting a strong, connected and sustainable child mental health workforce in Ukraine.
Middle East Task Force
The Middle East Task Force brings together around 20 paediatric psychologists from across the world. Its aim is to provide meaningful support to children affected by the violence in the Middle East, working through collaborations with organisations on the ground who can identify what the key needs actually are. The Task Force is looking to build long-term relationships with these organisations rather than one-off interventions, so that support is available for current and future needs.
The expertise within the Task Force covers three areas. In education, members work on teaching at various levels and curriculum development. In research, the group covers grant writing, project management, culturally specific adaptations, analysis of large databases, narrative and systematic reviews, and mixed methods work. In clinical services, members provide counselling and psychological support, with particular strength in trauma-informed care for children and families affected by acute or chronic medical conditions, and a focus on anxiety, depression, pain and sleep. Some members also have experience in asylum evaluation and advocacy for migrant health rights.
To find out more about the Middle East Task Force, contact Dr Line Caes at Line.Caes@stir.ac.uk