Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in refugee settings
Researcher: Daniela Arocha Ramirez
Topic: Implementation of Interpersonal Group Therapy (IPG-T) in Refugee Communities of Palabek Settlement, Northern Uganda
Unit: CHASE-i, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Makerere University
Programme: Master of Social Work
Supervisors: Dr Gloria Seruwagi & Dr Esther Nanfuka
Summary Background & Research Motivation: Daniela Arocha Ramirez is a psychologist with both research and practice experience in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), migration, and public policies for global development. Daniela has worked with social research and international non-governmental organizations (iNGOs) in Latin America – particularly in the areas of community-based and psychosocial interventions, humanitarian contexts, and human rights advocacy. She holds an associate degree in education, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Stavanger (UiS) in Norway. Joining CHASE-i as an Erasmus Mundus Scholar, Daniela was initially a visiting researcher in Uganda attached to the Centre where she conducted graduate research on the COMPASS project’s Protection and Mental Health intervention under the supervision of Dr. Gloria Seruwagi and Dr Esther Nanfuka in Makerere University’s Department of Social Work. Her research focused on assessing and documenting the implementation of the WHO’s Interpersonal Group Therapy (IPT-G). It also explored perceptions and experiences of IPG-T implementers, clients, refugee and local host communities in Uganda. IPG-T is part of the WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). Daniela’s research generated important evidence which contributed to programming under the Protection and Health strands of the COMPASS Project implemented in Uganda and South Sudan – with key lessons for adapting the intervention in other contexts. Daniela is originally from Colombia. Her motivation for MHPSS and research generally stems from her work with internally displaced people (IDPs) affected by Colombia’s armed conflict and Venezuela’s refugee crisis, where she closely attended to the anguish of vulnerable communities who had suffered through traumatic situations of displacement. Completed in 2023, Daniela Arocha Ramirez’s research was nested under the COMPASS Project.
