Safe, effective care
“In most of the settings where we work, a lack of trained mental health professionals presents a major barrier to providing psychological care for young people. There is an urgent need for interventions that can be safely and effectively delivered by non-specialists to reduce distress and improve wellbeing. EASE is designed to meet these needs.”
Dr. Felicity Brown, Senior Researcher
Persistent difficulties
- Young adolescents affected by adversity face significant barriers to accessing quality mental healthcare.
- The mental health ‘treatment gap’ for people in low-income countries is around 90%. In countries affected by armed conflict, that figure is even higher.
- Without adequate access to mental healthcare, youth are at increased vulnerability of experiencing persistent mental health difficulties.
Managing emotions
EASE is a group psychological intervention, incorporating evidence-based strategies for dealing with emotional disorders in children and young people. The intervention is made up of seven group sessions for adolescents and three sessions for caregivers. The programme for adolescents predominantly focuses on understanding emotions, stress management, behaviour activation and problem solving.
Visit the Mental Health Innovation Network website for a complete overview here.
Relevant, feasible
In Lebanon, War Child has conducted a needs assessment and cultural adaptation to ensure that EASE is relevant and applicable to the local context. An initial pilot of the locally-adapted intervention in Lebanon has shown that EASE can be successfully implemented.
Find out more about the ongoing evaluation of EASE here.
Our Partners
The development of the EASE intervention is led by the World Health Organization. War Child’s evaluation of EASE fits within the work of the STRENGTHS consortium, which is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. The STRENGTHS consortium is evaluating the implementation of non-specialist mental health interventions for adolescents and adults in eight different countries in the Europe and MENA regions.
Find out more about the STRENGTHS consortium here.
Countries
War Child is conducting an evaluation of the EASE intervention in Lebanon, as part of the STRENGTHS consortium. Evaluations are also being conducted in parallel by partner organisations in Tanzania, Pakistan and Jordan.
Testing the effectiveness
The effectiveness of EASE is currently being evaluated in Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan and Tanzania.
Our research agenda
The main research aim is to measure whether adolescents’ psychosocial distress is reduced after taking part in EASE. A full-scale trial is currently ongoing to this end. The findings of this trial will inform the broader implementation of the intervention.
Research and development
How we ensure our work with children is effective
The War Child Care System is made up of nine Core Interventions, developed to address the urgent needs of conflict-affected children and their communities. These interventions are supported by a number of tools and enabling trajectories that serve to promote access to care and a process of localisation.
Meet our Research and Development Team
Dr. Felicity Brown leads War Child's evaluation of the EASE intervention. Felicity holds a PhD and Masters degree in Clinical Psychology and is a Senior Researcher at War Child Holland. Her work focuses on the development, implementation and evaluation of psychological and educational interventions for communities affected by armed conflict and other adversities.
