THE ISSUE OF MENTAL HEALTH
The value of mental health in humanitarian settings is still underestimated. When War Trauma broaches the subject with our humanitarian partners we often find mental health comes as an afterthought. Even aft er twenty years, our task remains to convince aid workers and donors of the value of investing in a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Only when people confronted by war, conflict and other humanitarian disasters are able to cope with what they have gone through, will they be able to rebuild their lives, families, societies and economies.
In our annual magazine you will read stories of what WarTrauma has done to improve the psychosocial well-being of people around the world. We set up a discussion between an NGO director, a psychiatrist and an anthropologist on the future of Global Mental Health. And we discuss the value of scientific research in improving mental health interventions. In additi on, there are reflections from people from around the world who have benefitted from the work of WarTrauma.
We hope you will enjoy our magazine and will fi nd enough reason in these stories to continue to support War Trauma Foundation.
Thank you for your trust.
Leonti en Ruttenberg Director, War Trauma Foundation