Standards and protocols for the psychosocial support of humanitarian workers
Minimum Operating Standards
(Headington Institute)
Download this Headington Institute handout outlining Minimum Operating Standards for the psychosocial support of relief and development personnel.
Managing stress in humanitarian workers: Guidelines to good practice
(Antares Foundation and John Ehrenreich)
Download this detailed resource on guidelines for agencies wanting to minimize the risk of stress and trauma for staff.
Online handbooks and links on stress, trauma, resilience
Headington Institute online training modules
Visit the Institute’s online training library to find free online training on understanding and coping with traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, supporting national staff, coping with travel stress, and more...
Managing the stress of humanitarian emergencies
UNHCR Staff Welfare Unit (2000)
This handbook focuses on stress management in humanitarian emergencies with particular reference to those serving in the field as managers and team leaders. It contains information on both trauma and cumulative stress.
Insights into the concept of stress
Pan American Health Organization
This handbook walks the reader through a course aimed at helping managers and aid workers identify and understand stress. Stress Management in Disasters is an accompanying handbook that focuses on dealing with stress in disasters and traumatic situations. It offers information on both trauma and cumulative stress.
CARE International Security and Safety Handbook
CARE
This handbook discusses policies, assessments, planning, stress management, and fundamental safety and security procedures for humanitarian workers. Chapter 7 focuses on sources of stress, stress indicators, and ways to prevent stress.
Useful websites: The following organizations and websites provide information regarding traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout:
Resources on working in the humanitarian field
The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers.
Free online books you can download as PDF’s offer useful advice, strategies, and resources for people considering a career in the nonprofit sector.
Working in International Development and Emergency Aid (2004)
Written by Angela Higney and Piero Calvi-Parisetti.
This e-book is available for purchase online. The first half focuses on the international relief and development environment - what is international aid, and who are the actors? The second half focuses on becoming an aid worker - building your experience, working with the UN and the Red Cross, working with governments, and further education.
Useful websites: The following websites provide information regarding jobs, breaking humanitarian news, and staff support for humanitarian workers:
Resources for managers
Resources designed to assist managers in helping staff better cope with stress and trauma*
Recommended reading for managers
One of the keys to handling stress and crisis well as a manager is developing your self-management and leadership potential. The following list of resources may prove helpful:
- The one minute manager: This book by Kenneth Blanch and Spencer Johnson is a quick read with three simple principles to manage time and people.
- First things first: Here Stephen Covey helps us understand how to manage time in order to decrease unnecessary daily crises
- Now discover your strengths: Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton explain that discovering our key strengths helps us to work out who we are, what we are doing, and why – giving us great wholeness and contentedness in what we are doing.
- Overcoming the dark side of leadership: Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima offer this resource for avoiding the pitfalls of leadership and passion, asking, What are the driving forces behind your passions?
Resources for families and children
Few careers can impact an entire family as much as humanitarian work. These resources focus on the needs of the families of humanitarian workers, including emotional health and family functioning, and some of the many practical issues involved with international relocations.
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Families in Global Transition: FIGT’s mission is to help the family and their organizations to accomplish overseas assignments by providing strategic resources for families and individuals who live, move, and work throughout the world. The FIGT website contains a number of free articles in its resource section.
Processing trauma with children and adolescents
The resources here focus on helping parents and caregivers understand how children can react to traumatic events, and ways to communicate with children and teenagers about disaster and other traumatic events.
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SAMHSA: This site offers tips to teachers and families for talking to children and adolescents who have experienced disaster.
Bibliographies and recommended reading
Managing Stress in Humanitarian, Health Care, and Human Rights Workers
Extensive guide by John Ehrenreich to resources and research on traumatic stress and vicarious trauma associated with humanitarian workers and journalists, first-responders (such as police), mental health professionals, and survivors of traumatic events.
A guide to spiritual resources
A list of classic and contemporary spiritual texts on different religions, prayer, meditation, mindfulness, and artistic spiritual disciplines, prepared by the Headington Institute.
Sharing the front line and the back hills: Peacekeepers, humanitarian aid workers and the media in the midst of crisis (2002)
Edited by Yael Danieli. Published by Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.
This book offers a blended compilation of first-hand accounts from humanitarian workers, peacekeepers, and journalists, along with research and policy articles on stress, trauma, and staff care practices.
Stress and Trauma Handbook: Strategies for flourishing in demanding environments (2003)
Edited by John Fawcett. Published by World Vision
This book examines the impact of stress on humanitarian staff and their families and makes recommendations for how individuals and organizations can reduce the fallout from stress.
The Humanitarian companion: A guide for international aid, development and human rights workers (2005)
Written by John H. Ehrenreich. Published by ITDG Publishing
This book focuses on the different stages of humanitarian assignments (before, during, and after deployment) and addresses security, health, stress, coping with other’s trauma, and returning home.
Related organizations
The Headington Institute has a collaborative relationship with:
The following organizations have a mission similar to that of the Headington Institute:
*This information is provided solely for educational purposes. These handouts are not intended to be used as diagnostic or treatment tools. Any concerns you might have about mental health issues should be discussed with a qualified mental health professional. If you have concerns raised by any of this material, please contact the Headington Institute staff or other appropriately qualified mental health professionals.
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