In this first episode of Evidence from the Frontline: Mental Health in Crisis Affected Contexts, we’ll be talking about Self-Help Plus (SH+), a stress management course developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for delivery to large groups.
SH+ is based on a form of cognitive behavioural therapy and provides training in stress management to reduce psychosocial distress and improve coping. There are two key outputs relevant to practitioners: the group-based intervention with audio files, and the Doing What Matters book, which has been translated into many languages and a web application. SH+ has been widely taken up in humanitarian settings such as Ukraine, Uganda, and South Sudan. To explore this topic, Sarah Harrison, Acting Director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement MHPSS Hub, interviews Ken Carswell and Lidiia Kasianchuk. Ken is a Mental health Specialist from WHO and Lidiia is a psychologist from Ukraine with experience of implementing Self Help Plus.
Sarah, Ken and Lidiia unpack what practitioners need to know about implementation of both the book and group-based SH+ approaches, including field use and adaptation experiences; the impact of SH+ on service users and staff (the role of group facilitators is key). The importance of practice-based evidence and community engagement are explored, and the need for monitoring and evaluation, as well as more rigorous research to inform scaling and to explore motivation aspects.
Related Resources:
Key resources for practitioners
Self-Help Plus (sh+): a group-based stress management course for adults
The Self-Help Plus (SH+) training manual: for training facilitators to deliver the SH+ course
Self-Help Plus (SH+) online orientation course
Doing What Matters in Times of Stress
Research and further reading
Self-Help Plus (SH+): a new WHO stress management package
Self-Help Plus was developed by the World Health Organization with extensive input and support from multiple partners. Please see the Self-Help Plus manual, DWM book, academic papers and other resources for acknowledgements and funding details. The original Self-Help Plus research was supported by Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) and the EU Horizon 2020 programme.
Evidence from the Frontline: Mental Health in Crisis Affected Contexts is a six-episode podcast mini-series produced in a collaboration between the MHPSS Hub and Elrha.
Designed for MHPSS practitioners working in humanitarian and crisis contexts, the series highlights impactful interventions and offers practical insights from experts in the field. It will explore critical topics including effectiveness, implementation, adaptation, integration into existing programmes, human resources, costs, and the importance of cultural and contextual relevance.
The six episodes of Evidence from the Frontline: Mental Health in Crisis Affected Contexts is published through the Heartbeat of Humanity podcast.
Listen to the podcast here or subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts.
Find more episodes of Heartbeat of Humanity.
