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Mental health specialist

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Mental health specialist

Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) mental health specialists work to provide psychological or psychiatric care to communities impacted by conflict, disasters, or disease. 

Resilient, compassionate, and focused, their work is essential to helping people rebuild their lives. This can be through counselling, psycho-social support, or, in some projects, medication.  

Our counsellors are often members of the local community, specially trained by MSF. They receive clinical supervision and support from highly qualified mental health specialists such as psychologists and psychiatrists.  

Read the blog posts below to find out more about life as an MSF mental health specialist, or click here to find out more about applying to join the team. 

Psychologist Concetta Feo
Concetta Feo
Mental health specialist
The bomb shelter birthday party: Mental health and resilience in Ukraine
Beneath the streets of Kyiv, the city's metro system has become a refuge for people escaping the terrors of the war. MSF psychologist Concetta Feo joins the team providing medical care underground...
02 May 2022 / 7 minute read
Lavender House has lavender painted interior walls
Barbara Kerre
Barbara Kerre
Mental health specialist
Kenya: "Please follow your dream and chase it"
In the overcrowded Mathare slum area of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, MSF runs a 24-hour sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) care clinic called Lavender House. Barbara Salano Kerre is the sexual and gender-based violence mental health supervisor there, and shares her experience...
08 Mar 2022 / 4 minute read
Hasina Nouroj, mental health activities manager, MSF
Hasina Nouroj
Mental health specialist
Asifa and Samira: Mental health in Marib, Yemen
Marib was once considered one of the safest places in Yemen. Now war, displacement and poverty are leaving their marks on the mental health of the region's inhabitants. The needs are 'overwhelming' says Hasina Nouroj, MSF's mental health activities manager...
07 Feb 2022 / 6 minute read
Antonella Pozzi
Mental health specialist
Mental health in Yemen: “The number of severe cases is astonishingly high”
Not all war-wounds are visible. Mental health specialist Antonella Pozzi shares the work of the team in Hajjah, Yemen, a country that has lived through years of civil war...
16 Nov 2021 / 4 minute read
The mural at the clinic for people who use heroin in Kiambu
Lindsay Solera-Deuchar - MSF psychiatrist
Lindsay Solera-Deuchar
Mental health specialist
“Unshakeable determination”: How MSF is helping drug users in Kenya rebuild their lives
Part of MSF’s humanitarian work involves reaching people often excluded from healthcare services. At the first clinic of its kind in Kiambu County, Kenya, one MSF team is working to provide a 'one-stop shop' for people seeking treatment for heroin dependency. Psychiatrist Lindsay Solera-Deuchar explains…
14 Oct 2021 / 6 minute read
Gisela Silva Gonzalez - MSF mental health specialist
Gisela Silva Gonzalez
Mental health specialist
Central African Republic: The four musketeers
Survivors of sexual violence can walk a lonely path. Psychologist Gisela shares a story about four women who have come together to find support and resilience in the Central African Republic.
11 Jun 2021 / 5 minute read
Gwladys Ngbanga-Yema - MSF mental health specialist
Gwladys Ngbanga-Yema
Mental health specialist
“I congratulate you on your courage”: Helping survivors of sexual assault overcome stigma
Counsellor Gwladys explains the significant impact of stigma, and how she and her team at MSF's Tongolo project are helping survivors rebuild their lives
02 Jun 2021 / 4 minute read
Gisela Silva Gonzalez - MSF mental health specialist
Gisela Silva Gonzalez
Mental health specialist
Tongolo: A space to talk about everything
In the Central African Republic, MSF counsellors are helping survivors of sexual violence find the inner strength they might not know they have. Psychologist Gisela writes…
07 Apr 2021 / 3 minute read
Gisela Silva Gonzalez - MSF mental health specialist
Gisela Silva Gonzalez
Mental health specialist
Tongolo means hope
At our Tongolo project in the Central African Republic, survivors of sexual violence can find both physical care and psychological support. Mental health specialist Gisela Silva Gonzalez takes us inside this important and powerful place.
23 Feb 2021 / 4 minute read
Sunset over Nablus in the West Bank
Marilen Osinalde - MSF psychologist
Marilen Osinalde
Mental health specialist
The two conflicts: Lessons of loss in Palestine
Psychologist Marilen Osinalde shares a deeply personal story from one resilient patient, and the growth that can be found in grief
15 Dec 2020 / 8 minute read
Marilen Osinalde - MSF psychologist
Marilen Osinalde
Mental health specialist
Palestine: The never-ending lockdown
Psychologist Marilen writes from Nablus, where the fear and restrictions brought by COVID-19 are nothing new for many
18 Nov 2020 / 6 minute read
Raimund Alber
Mental health specialist
Sexual violence in Cameroon: Violet's story
Simple actions can have an important impact for survivors of sexual assault. Psychologist Raimund shares the story of how the team cared for one family in Cameroon...
10 Nov 2020 / 9 minute read
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