Development of an Inclusive MHPSS Training Consultancy

Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Development of an Inclusive MHPSS Training Consultancy

Background

HI is an independent international solidarity organization that has been working for over 40 years in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside vulnerable people and people with disabilities, HI acts and speaks out to meet their essential needs and improve their living conditions. It is committed to promoting respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. Since it was founded in 1982, HI has set up development programs in nearly 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations.

Introduction to HI’s MHPSS Approach

At Humanity & Inclusion (HI), our Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) activities are designed to target individuals at risk of or living with psychological distress, as well as those at risk of or living with mental health conditions. Our MHPSS sector is grounded in a holistic concept of mental health, which integrates three critical dimensions: Psychological distress, Mental health conditions, and Positive mental health.

While these dimensions interact with one another, they are not always systematically interdependent. HI’s interventions in MHPSS aim to address all these dimensions whenever possible. However, depending on the specific context, needs, and available resources, our activities may focus on just one of these dimensions. The inclusion of people with disabilities in all their diversity is a fundamental aspect of HI’s MHPSS programming, to advance health equity and ensure that no one is left behind. HI’s approach to disability inclusion in health is grounded in human rights, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, including article 25 on the right to health) and the World Health Assembly Resolution on the Highest Attainable Standard of Health for Persons with Disabilities.

Within this framework:

• Integrated Approach: HI favors the use of the full term “MHPSS” and rejects any dichotomy that separates mental health from psychosocial support. At HI, psychosocial support is seen as one of the many essential strategies for addressing mental health.
• Mixed Interventions: HI promotes mixed interventions that strengthen existing local support systems, while simultaneously filling potential gaps in direct service delivery.

Scope of MHPSS Activities

HI’s primary MHPSS activities are aligned with the four layers of the IASC intervention pyramid:

1. Social Considerations in Basic Services and Security: Ensuring that basic services are designed and delivered in a way that promotes psychosocial well-being and considers the social and cultural context of the affected population.
   • Techniques for effective communication, including active listening and joint decision-making.
   • Key attitudes in the provision of MHPSS services (not-knowing position, cultural sensitivity, boundaries, self-reflection, bias, rights-based approaches …)
   • Practical approaches for ensuring accessibility and reasonable accommodations for people with diverse disabilities within MHPSS activities.
   • Communicating with people with disabilities, particularly those with psychosocial disabilities and communication difficulties.
   • Emphasis on informed consent and communicating with individuals experiencing severe mental health issues and cognitive or psychosocial disabilities.
2. Community and Family Support: Strengthening and supporting existing community structures that contribute to psychosocial well-being, ensuring these structures are inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities.
3. Focused, Non-Specialized Support: Providing targeted interventions by trained, non-specialized personnel to address specific psychosocial needs.
4. Specialized Services: Although HI predominantly focuses on non-specialist MHPSS services, in certain contexts where necessary, we do provide specialized MHPSS services to address severe mental health conditions.

The Global Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) team is currently engaged in a comprehensive project to develop a global curriculum aimed at enhancing the essential competencies of MHPSS staff at the programme level. This initiative is a critical step towards ensuring that all staff are well-equipped to provide quality and disability-inclusive MHPSS services, in line with the IASC Guidelines on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action[1]. The development of this curriculum is intended to standardize training across various contexts, ensuring consistency in the delivery of MHPSS services for all and the inclusion of people with disabilities in all their diversity.

Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to develop three interactive training modules that will be integrated into the larger, HI MHPSS curriculum. The modules should take an intersectional approach, building the capacity of HI staff to consider and address the diversity of protective and risk factors that contribute to exclusion, thereby fostering a more comprehensive and inclusive MHPSS environment. The modules should be designed with a focus on disability inclusion, ensuring that all content and activities are accessible, and supports HI staff to practically and actively include people with disabilities in MHPSS programming.

Note: Please note that some relevant materials to these modules already exist within HI’s resources. Therefore, this consultancy will involve selecting, adapting, and reorganizing these materials, rather than developing all the content from scratch.

1. Introduction to MHPSS (2-3 days):

• Overview of MHPSS key principles and humanitarian principles, including those on disability inclusion within MHPSS.
• Development based on existing materials and supplemented with new insights as required.

1. Inclusive Communication / Basic Communication Skills in MHPSS (4-5 days):
2. Self-Care for MHPSS Staff (2-3 days):

• Tools and practices for maintaining well-being and managing stress among MHPSS staff.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks, with a particular focus on ensuring disability inclusion and accessibility throughout the training materials and process:

1. Module Development:

• Design and develop interactive yet inclusive and accessible[2] PowerPoint presentations and trainer notes for each of the three modules,
• Incorporate pre- and post-training assessments to measure knowledge acquisition.
• Develop and integrate practical, field-based case studies that highlights diverse, intersectional experiences including those of people with diverse disabilities to enhance learning and application.

1. Consultation and Feedback:

• Collaborate with MHPSS staff and Inclusive Health Specialist to gather insights and feedback that will support the development of the modules.
• Conduct consultations with relevant technical specialists, to ensure that the modules meet the identified needs, and are inclusive of diverse people with disabilities.
• Provide practical examples and scenarios that MHPSS staff can apply in their daily work, including when working with diverse people with disabilities.
• Integrate the new modules into existing training programs and capacity-building initiatives.
• Provide measurable indicators for assessing knowledge retention and skill development in the aforementioned topics.

Deliverables

Concretely, the consultant will produce the following deliverables by the end of the consultancy:

• Interactive, accessible PowerPoint presentations and facilitator notes for each module.
• Case studies and practical examples.
• Pre- and post-training assessments.

Duration and Timeline

The consultancy is home-based and expected to take place between September and October 2024. The consultant is expected to complete the work within a maximum of 20-25 working days. Please note that all activities under this consultancy will be conducted remotely, with no travel required to gather insights from our teams.

Copyright
The copyright of all deliverables produced under this consultancy will belong to Humanity & Inclusion (HI).

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in psychology or other related field.
• Extensive experience in inclusive MHPSS, particularly in humanitarian contexts.
• Experience in counseling
• Proven track record in curriculum development and training facilitation.
• Strong understanding and practical application of disability inclusion, especially in relation to people with psychosocial disabilities .
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Detail oriented
• Persons with lived experience of disability are encouraged to apply.

[1] https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/iasc-guidelines-on-inclusion-of-persons-with-disabilities-in-humanitarian-action-2019

[2] In line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG2.2) https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/