Job Purpose:
Under the supervision of the Project Manager, with strong functional links with the MHPSS Technical Specialist, the mental health and psychosocial worker will provide hospital and clinic-based services to individuals, and groups affected by the conflict/disaster upsurge in Kabul.
The MHPSS Worker will:
- Provide quality assessment of psychosocial needs of persons experiencing psychological distress and persons with disabilities) including children, and their caregivers, in coordination with the Physiotherapists.
- Support persons with psychological distress by providing quality direct responses to the psychosocial needs identified, through individual, or group interventions within the Handicap International comprehensive approach.
- Provide indirect response through referrals to stakeholders working in social, protection, psychosocial and mental health sectors or any other relevant sectors according to the needs of the beneficiaries (including close follow-up on the process and response).
Job Description
The Duties and responsibilities may include but not limited to:
Key Responsibilities:
- In order to improve the rehabilitation process, assess the psychosocial issues and capacities of the beneficiaries and identified their needs in terms of psychosocial support in close collaboration with the PTs:
- Conduct visits to individuals and families, including children, in the district hospitals or other service facilities if required.
- Identify the nature and severity of psychosocial needs through the psychosocial assessment
- Fill the different assessments and referral forms, when required, according to the assessment’s criteria
- According to the outcomes of the assessment of the beneficiaries’ needs, elaborate an appropriate action plan and, when required, ensure coordination with the Physiotherapists or Project Officer.
- Offer secure and appropriate mental health and psychosocial support
- Provide psychosocial services based on the informed consent of the beneficiary and adapted to her/his needs, considering the limitations of the emergency responses.
- Actively involve the beneficiaries at all stages of the assessment and response, in order to ensure the relevance and sustainability of the intervention.
- Detect any evolution of the cases and will modify the action plan accordingly or refer to relevant colleague, superior or stakeholders
- Use secure and respectful methods when working with beneficiary
- Ensure a proper follow up of the cases
- Ensure the responsibility of the service provided to the beneficiary
- Provide appropriate psychosocial sessions to identified persons or households in need, including children, through family, groups and individual based approaches in coordination, when required, with the Physiotherapist.
- Provide awareness sessions and recreational activities to the beneficiaries in hospital.
- Use various communication means (written, spoken, etc.) during activities to ensure the self-expression of the beneficiaries
- Facilitate inclusive activities
- Identify his/her own limits and ask for support before any acts that could cause harm to beneficiary
- Refer beneficiary to other services when needed:
- Identify needs for referrals to other relevant stakeholders and monitor referrals conducted in coordination with the Project Officer, the Physiotherapist.
- Refer persons to appropriate services through adequate referral system in place. Referrals can be discussed in team meetings and in close collaboration with others colleagues.
- Recognize emergency situation or situations that need immediate medical care or protection measure and react in consequence making efforts to ensure that beneficiary get the appropriate services.
- Record, Report, develop the tools and planning
- Maintain complete individual files for each person, including detailed descriptions of services provided and evolution of the case
- Ensure that complete beneficiary pack is properly filled and signed
- Write case studies on beneficiaries and activities of the project
- Respect all guidelines and documentation within the project; keep data records for each individual and group sessions
- Document any protection concerns and report them to your line manager
- Ensure a daily quantitative and qualitative reporting through the tools (assessment form, follow up form, discharge and monitoring form, donation certificate) and system in place
- Any other reports to be made upon line manager request
- Participate to the improvement of the activities protocol, tools and guidelines to ensure a qualitative comprehensive intervention
- Actively participate to all the project meeting, technical follow-up, internal and external trainings related to your position according to your line manager instructions
- Contribute to the organization of the weekly plan within the multidisciplinary team, with the support of the project officer.
- To build other team members’ and partners’ member’s capacities
- Work in a constructive way with the Physiotherapists.
- Provide technical advices for hospital or other humanitarian partners' staffs as per request of your line manager
- Provide training or sensitization sessions
- Materials Management
- Identify material, equipment, recreational kit needed, timely formulate requests, and ensure appropriate use/distribution
- Demonstrate willingness to improve professional competences and abilities to increase care quality:
- Demonstrate motivation at work.
- Demonstrate willingness to improve his/her own knowledge and skills by participating actively in any training sessions, capacity building activities…
- Participate in the different activities that are common to all team members (identification of needs of beneficiaries, internal and/or external referrals)
- Respect each team member’s positions, work, and specificity
- Adapt to special situations or demands from supervisor (reporting, etc.)
- Respect hygiene and security rules
- The Mental health and Psychosocial Worker respects and applies basic hygiene rules;
- He/she maintains equipment clean and secured.
- He/she observes at all times strict commitment to Handicap International Security & Safety regulations as per procedures in place at mission level
- He/she supports information internal dissemination to relevant focal persons at mission level aiming at reinforcing security and safety of Handicap International staff and assets
- Demonstrate an ethics and professional practice:
- Show professional ethics, respect and promote Handicap International mandate
- Among others, he/she respects beneficiary’s privacy and confidentiality (he/she only share medical information with medical staff/persons directly involved in beneficiary’s care)
- Respect the Handicap International protection of children policy and protection of beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and abuse policyand report to your line manager any non-respect of HI’s policies amongst the teams or partners.
- Report any incident or act that causes any harm to beneficiary or to others.
- Always interact with children with the presence of their parents or caregivers
- Always respect a refusal of service.
- Work with the best of knowledge and abilities to offer a good quality psychosocial support
- Show abilities and competences to execute an efficient rehabilitation intervention.
Note that this job description must remain flexible, to respond to additional tasks or changes as identified by the line manager.
CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE:
The Mental health and Psychosocial worker is expected to maintain confidentiality of all beneficiary and internal information at all times. Afghanistan mission takes place in a sensitive environment regarding security of Handicap International staff and assets. Handicap International employee commits to observe utmost respect of personal and professional ethics, to adhere to principles of neutrality and impartiality, and to ensure necessary levels of discretion within and outside working space. Not respecting this clause will lead to disciplinary action and have immediate dismissal as a result.
Any breach of the above-mentioned responsibilities, of the Conditions of Engagement may be sanctioned by a written warning or immediate dismissal if appropriate.
