Humanitarian Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services: Comparing Models Across Global-Oriented Organizations

The refugee crisis is a mounting issue beginning to capture the world’s attention. Consequently, the concerning rise of these numbers indicates that more and more humans are experiencing the traumatic and distressing experience of displacement. While theory on psychosocial well-being has been prevalent in the social sciences, global-oriented humanitarian organizations are beginning to recognize the growing need for its implementation in reactionary models. This study is a critical literature review aiming to answer the question of how several of these international humanitarian organizations’ existing models on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services compare to theory and literature on psychosocial well-being. The units analyzed in this comparison are organizations such as the USAID, UNHCR, and War Child as they are compared to theorists and contributors to the field of psychosocial well-being such as Abraham Maslow (1970), Urie Bronfenbrenner (1981), The National Center of PTSD (2006), and the work of Kanagaratnam, et.al (2021). The critical literature review yields a comparison between organizations that highlights the interventionist strengths of the USAID according to the National Center of PTSD, community-building and technical strengths of the UNHCR as it is similar to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model (1981), and War Child’s strengths in support-building in the psychosocial ecosystem as well as a modern and innovative development of programs as recommended by the Refugee Mental Health Framework (Kanagaratnam, et. al, 2021). The researcher recommends that future studies be conducted to assess the efficacy of these models, as the international community and displaced populations benefit from quality, evidence-informed psychosocial support services.