Armenia – Psychologist in Yerevan

Context

Crisis context

On 27 September 2020, heavy fighting broke out along the border in and around the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh —the most serious escalation since 2016. Civilian casualties have been reported on both sides, while many houses and public infrastructures in the conflict zone, such as schools, roads and communication networks, were also damaged. According to official statements, around 90.000 people – equivalent to two-thirds of the Nagorno-Karabakh population – have been displaced as a direct result of the conflict. Nearly 90% of the spontaneous arrivals were women and children, and the majority of them fled to the capital Yerevan as well as to the cities of Goris and Sisian. Following heavy clashes, the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, and the President of Russia signed a 9-point statement on cessation of hostilities on 9 November 2020.

The massive influx of spontaneous arrivals is adding pressure on already limited resources in cities and localities where they seek safety. Moreover, the pandemic of COVID-19 and the post-conflict situation affect the capacity of the hosting communities to provide sustained support. While the health care system is stretched, MHPSS needs increased significantly.

PUI’s strategy / position in the country

Première Urgence Internationale is an NGO resulting from the merger of Aide Médicale Internationale (AMI) and Première Urgence (PU) in 2011. Following the conflict escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh at the end of September 2020, PUI decided in October to organize a first exploratory mission in order to meet state authorities and humanitarian actors in Armenia, and thus evaluate the support that the organization would bring to this response. In light of the fast evolution of the context and the ceasefire signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, PUI decided to organize a second needs-assessment in December, in particular in MHPSS. Indeed, the conflict’s escalation is part of long-term tensions that had already impacted the mental health of Armenians, but the war has definitely exacerbated pre-existing MHPSS needs.  Considering the results of these two assessments, PUI wants to contribute to the reduction of the suffering of host communities, spontaneous arrivals and returnees affected by the conflict in Armenia through a MHPSS approach at first. Thus, PUI recently submitted a proposal to an institutional donor. The funding of this project should be confirmed soon.

For 2021, the major objective of PUI is to bring about strong sectoral improvements in MHPSS in Armenia and look into new PUI sectors to include in our mission strategy over 2021. In this context PUI is looking for a strong and experienced head of mission.

Responsabilities

Overall purpose

The Psychologist works within the Première Urgence Internationale’s project in Yerevan. The beneficiaries are host and refugee communities supported by the local partner associations. The psychologist is focused on the provision of targeted clinical supervision, trainings and direct provision of psychosocial support when relevant: he/she develops individualized clinical supervision, capacity building interventions and trainings in accordance with the gaps and needs identified. In collaboration with the partner associations, s/he conducts focused counseling sessions for individuals and families, contributes to the quality of the community-level psychosocial support activities, supports the psychologists and psychosocial workers in their clinical practice, and supports the referrals of cases for psychological consultations. He/she contributes to data collection.

Responsibilities and scope of duties

• Provide technical support and capacity building to the partners’s MHPSS staff
• Support adequate referrals of community centers’ beneficiaries in need of psychological care
• Participate in providing psychosocial interventions in the community centers
• Participate in training activities
• Participate in data collection and reporting