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.
In this fifth episode, Sarah Harrison, Director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement MHPSS Hub, speaks with Professor Mark Jordans (researcher at King’s College London and Director of Research and Development at War Child), and Dr Zeinab Hijazi (Global Lead on Mental Health at UNICEF), to hear more about Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE).
We learn that, while not a ‘magic wand’, EASE has shown significant results and could help fill a gap in mental health support for young people in crisis-affected and low-resource settings. Mark, Sarah, and Zeinab discuss the rigorous training, competencies, and supervision needed for non-specialist providers, and the journey to develop, test and adapt EASE for implementation worldwide, including scale-up in Ukraine. They discuss future research opportunities, such as youth-led research or strengthening and simplifying the intervention. We learn that EASE should be integrated into a broader system of care, informed by national policy frameworks and practice standards.
EASE is an evidence-based group intervention that helps 10–15-year-olds in adversity-affected communities manage stress, anxiety, and depression through skills training. It includes seven sessions for adolescents and three for caregivers, using adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques delivered by trained non-specialist helpers.
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, Google Podcast or wherever you find your podcasts.
