In countries that have experienced periods of conflict or war, people are often left with high levels of psychological trauma. At the same time, these people often have few resources to devote to their mental health when their economies and societies have been devastated by war, displacement, violence and destruction. It is precisely at these times when the people need psychosocial therapies – therapies that address mental health in terms of the social context in which people face traumatic events – more than ever. To address the need for mental health services among traumatized populations, Heartland Alliance trains local community-level mental health workers and peer counselors to address the psychosocial needs of the population. In this way psychosocial care can be provided by training people without a high level of formal education, which represents a cost-effective and sustainable way to help people in post-conflict countries deal with the traumatic aftereffects of war.

Heartland Alliance has extensive experience providing psychosocial training to community-level mental health workers and peer counselors in several programs, including:

• Community Mental Health Worker Program in Iraq
• Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda
• Female Former Child Soldier Reintegration in Burundi 
• Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities for Former Child Soldiers in Sri Lanka
• Sikia: Capacity Building for Mental Health Providers Serving Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Trauma Rehabilitation & Training Center  in Iraq
• Gender-Based Violence Prevention in Iraq
• Psychosocial Teacher Training in Iraq