Gender, Mental Health, and Psychosocial Protection Training Course

Introduction
Gender significantly influences mental health outcomes and access to psychosocial support. This training course provides participants with in-depth knowledge and practical skills to integrate gender considerations into mental health and psychosocial protection interventions across diverse contexts.
Participants will explore how social norms, power dynamics, and structural inequalities impact mental health outcomes for women, men, and gender-diverse populations. The course emphasizes designing inclusive programs that address the unique psychosocial needs of vulnerable groups.
The course equips participants with the tools to assess mental health needs while considering gendered experiences of trauma, violence, and displacement. Participants will learn strategies for providing safe, ethical, and culturally sensitive support that promotes equity and resilience.
Practical competencies include integrating gender analysis into mental health programs, developing psychosocial protection plans, and ensuring that interventions are responsive to the specific needs of marginalized groups, including survivors of gender-based violence.
Participants will examine the intersection of gender, mental health, and psychosocial protection in emergencies, humanitarian crises, and community development programs. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based approaches, advocacy, and multi-sectoral coordination for impactful interventions.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to design, implement, and evaluate mental health and psychosocial programs that are gender-responsive, equitable, and sustainable. The training strengthens leadership, policy, and programmatic capacity to advance psychosocial protection and wellbeing.

Who Should Attend

• Mental health and psychosocial support practitioners
• Gender and protection officers in humanitarian and development sectors
• Social workers and counselors
• Psychologists and clinical mental health professionals
• NGO and humanitarian program managers
• Government mental health and social services officers
• Child protection and GBV specialists
• Monitoring and evaluation officers
• Community development and social inclusion practitioners
• Researchers and policy advisors

Duration

10 days

Course Objectives

• Strengthen understanding of gender dynamics and their impact on mental health outcomes in diverse contexts.
• Build capacity to integrate gender analysis into mental health and psychosocial protection programs.
• Enhance ability to design psychosocial interventions that are culturally sensitive and gender-responsive.
• Improve competence in addressing the unique needs of vulnerable populations, including GBV survivors.
• Strengthen skills in conducting gender-sensitive mental health needs assessments and analysis.
• Build capacity to implement interventions that promote resilience, social inclusion, and wellbeing.
• Enhance understanding of ethical principles, confidentiality, and safeguarding in gendered contexts.
• Develop skills to coordinate multi-sectoral interventions linking gender, protection, and mental health.
• Improve ability to monitor, evaluate, and adapt programs to ensure gender equity and effectiveness.
• Strengthen knowledge of advocacy strategies to promote mental health and psychosocial protection.
• Enhance skills to develop policy recommendations integrating gender, mental health, and psychosocial protection.
• Equip participants to lead initiatives that strengthen community-based gender and psychosocial support systems.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Gender, Mental Health, and Psychosocial Protection

• Concepts of gender and social norms.
• Gendered mental health outcomes.
• Psychosocial protection frameworks.
• Intersectionality in program design.

Module 2: Gender Analysis in Mental Health Programs

• Tools and methodologies for gender analysis.
• Identifying barriers to access and equity.
• Understanding power dynamics.
• Translating analysis into programmatic action.

Module 3: Mental Health Needs Assessment

• Assessment tools and methods.
• Culturally and gender-appropriate approaches.
• Identifying psychosocial risk factors.
• Engaging communities in data collection.

Module 4: Psychosocial Protection Principles

• Core protection concepts.
• Rights-based approaches.
• Safeguarding vulnerable populations.
• Integrating protection into mental health programs.

Module 5: Gender-Based Violence and Mental Health

• Understanding GBV and psychosocial impact.
• Survivor-centered interventions.
• Referral pathways and case management.
• Ethical and safety considerations.

Module 6: Trauma-Informed Care

• Principles of trauma-informed practice.
• Psychological first aid techniques.
• Supporting survivors of trauma.
• Preventing secondary trauma in practitioners.

Module 7: Designing Gender-Responsive Programs

• Inclusive program design frameworks.
• Integrating gender into objectives and outcomes.
• Evidence-based intervention strategies.
• Participatory approaches with communities.

Module 8: Psychosocial Intervention Techniques

• Group-based psychosocial activities.
• Individual counseling strategies.
• Coping and resilience-building tools.
• Community support structures.

Module 9: Emergency and Humanitarian Contexts

• Mental health in crises and disasters.
• Gendered vulnerabilities in emergencies.
• Rapid psychosocial response techniques.
• Coordination with humanitarian actors.

Module 10: Monitoring and Evaluation

• Gender-sensitive indicators and metrics.
• Data collection and analysis methods.
• Evaluating program effectiveness.
• Learning and adaptive management approaches.

Module 11: Advocacy and Policy Integration

• Promoting gender and mental health policies.
• Strategic communication and advocacy.
• Engaging stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Evidence-informed policy recommendations.

Module 12: Ethical Considerations

• Confidentiality and informed consent.
• Safeguarding and protection policies.
• Ethical dilemmas in gendered interventions.
• Professional responsibility and accountability.

Module 13: Community Engagement and Participation

• Engaging beneficiaries in program design.
• Building trust and rapport with communities.
• Inclusive participation strategies.
• Feedback mechanisms and transparency.

Module 14: Staff Capacity and Wellbeing

• Training and supervision strategies.
• Preventing burnout and secondary trauma.
• Promoting staff resilience.
• Team coordination and support.

Module 15: Digital Tools in Gender and Mental Health

• Tele-psychology and online interventions.
• Mobile and digital monitoring tools.
• Ensuring privacy and safety online.
• Scaling digital programs effectively.

Module 16: Emerging Issues and Innovations

• Climate change and gendered mental health impacts.
• Innovative psychosocial protection approaches.
• Integrating research into practice.
• Future directions in gender-responsive mental health programs.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, guided tour and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.