Mental health and psychosocial support service provision for adolescent girls in post-conflict settings, a culturally sensitive response

Kusala Wettasinghe, Sarala Emmanuel, Fiona Samuels and Ananda Galappatti (August 2015) ODI Research Report, London.

This paper is an output of ReBUILD’s Affiliate research partners, the Overseas Development Institute, and their project: Psychosocial support and service provision for adolescent girls in post-conflict settings.

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The research reported on in this report is the second stage of a study conducted by the Overseas Development Institute (UK) and The Good Practice Group (Sri Lanka) with the support from the ReBUILD Consortium, a research partnership funded by the UK Department for International Development. The study sought to assess if existing services and other responses to the mental health and psychosocial problems experienced by adolescent girls in Sri Lanka’s post-conflict settings are sufficiently informed by an understanding of context, gender and socio-cultural norms. The first stage of the study focused on mapping adolescents’ and adults’ perceptions of wellbeing and the factors that have an impact on adolescent wellbeing in post-conflict communities, and understanding the nature of services available for adolescents at ground-level. The second stage of the research built on these findings and examined in greater depth the nature and quality of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services available. It also examined if and how these services responded to the mental health and psychosocial issues identified during the initial stage of the research.