In honour of World Mental Health Day today, the PS Centre is proud to announce the launch of the Restoring Family Links (RFL) and Psychosocial Support (PSS) e-learning course.
Developed jointly by the RFL & Missing Unit of the Protection Division, the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Network (MHPSS) Health Unit of the Assistance Division of the ICRC and the International Federation Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, the RFL and PSS course is part of a Movement-wide effort to build closer collaboration between RFL and PSS practitioners working in the field, particularly in emergency situations.

Experience has shown that beneficiaries who approach the Red Cross Red Crescent looking for family members are often in need of PSS. Similarly, those accessing PSS may also have tracing needs.

However, RFL and PSS practitioners sometimes fail to identify beneficiaries’ secondary needs, either due to a lack of awareness or simply as a result of a narrow focus on what they perceive to be the priority ‘task in hand’. Furthermore, where practitioners do identify needs outside their strict remit, they sometimes lack the skills and/or confidence to respond appropriately.
The goal of this e-learning course is to increase the awareness and knowledge of PSS and RFL practitioners, with respect to each others’ area of expertise, so that they are able to address the needs of beneficiaries more holistically. Specifically, this e-learning aims to:

You can access the RFL and PSS e-learning course by visiting the Red Cross Red Crescent Learning platform. The course is open to everyone; you will just need to create an account and log in before proceeding.