Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) StrongMinds

ABOUT STRONGMINDS ZAMBIA

StrongMinds (www.strongminds.org) Zambia (SMZ) is a fast growing and dynamic social enterprise, and the only organization scaling an intervention to deliver life-changing mental health treatment to vulnerable African women and adolescents suffering from depression. Our cost-efficient, rigorously tested therapeutic model uses Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT-G)—a WHO-recommended first-line treatment for depression in resource-poor settings. Since 2014, StrongMinds has provided mental health treatment to more than 230,000 clients in Uganda and Zambia, transforming their psychological health, increasing their economic security, and improving the well-being of their family.

StrongMinds has earned an impressive reputation in the global mental health space. In addition to media coverage in the New York Times, Forbes, BBC World Service, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, we are described by UK organization Founders Pledge as the most cost-effective mental health organization working in the developing world.

Following many successful years in Uganda, StrongMinds has grown significantly from when it established its operations in Zambia in 2019 with a small team of 8 staff and an annual budget of $300,000 delivering IPT-G to just under 2,500 clients, to today where we have a staff of over 55, an annual budget exceeding $1 million and are expected to treat more than 50,000 clients in this calendar year alone.

StrongMinds Zambia expects to treat over 100,000 clients in the next 12 months and recognizes that scale will only be achieved by prioritizing the integration of its proven group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G) model through partnerships – within existing community, government, and NGO structures.

2.0. JOB PURPOSE

The Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) is a dynamic individual, who runs group therapy sessions for various community groups including but not limited to low-income settlements, rural communities and host communities affected by depression. They mobilize, screen, recruit into groups and provide treatment to community members using the Interpersonal Group Therapy Technique. They are expected to be vibrant, energized individuals full of empathy and compassion for vulnerable communities being able to engage them in small groups to discuss issues that are affecting them and come up with solutions.

They will also work with community leaders, to create favorable environments for refugees affected by depression to not only recover but thrive.

With other MHFs, the MHF works collaboratively with the Monitoring and Evaluation Departments, Program Department Leadership sharing their experiences and learning to better the StrongMinds Model. The MHF should be accessible to and approachable by host communities. He/she should be able to work independently in the catchment area allocated building the necessary networks and partnerships to ensure successful cycles of group therapy sessions. They should strive to exhibit StrongMinds’ values and understand their role in safeguarding vulnerable communities.

3.0. RESPONSIBILITIES

The job description categorizes the key tasks into five divisions, all of which are important, and the job holder should be able to ensure all tasks are planned for and implemented according to the organization’s annual and cycle calendars.

1. Program implementation

• Identify, screen, recruit into and treat women with depression.
• Constantly seek to identify, understand, document and report participants’ barriers to help-seeking and participation in group therapy sessions.
• Communicate these with supervisors and team to find and test innovative solutions to address this.
• Following the prescribed IPTG sessions guidelines, create a safe environment for women to discuss depression, their interpersonal relations and how the depression is currently affecting their lives
• Follow–up and track participant attendance and participation and document progress to assess IPT-G efficacy.
• Conduct effective referral of women using the StrongMinds Zambia referral guidelines.
• Identify women who can volunteer to lead IPT groups in their communities to be trained in an adapted peer-led therapy curriculum.
• Ensure complete adherence to the IPT-G model – with no deviation at any point during delivery of therapy.

2. Coaching and skill building

• Participate in in-house training with the team and other trainings organized by the Program Manager and management.
• Attend and participate in weekly debriefing meetings with your team and supervisors.
• Participate in face-to-face meeting with your supervisor.
• Attend and participate in all trainings organized by StrongMinds Zambia.
• Set aside time for self-care to avoid burnout.
• Identify and report any instances in which you notice feelings of conflict between yourself and the client or clients (transference, counter transference, set boundaries are violated, secondary trauma and compassion fatigue).
• Attending regular support, training, debriefing, case conference and/or supervision meetings to ensure information and skill-sharing.
• Constantly seek to improve personal skills through learning and mentorship of the SMHF.
• Able to take timely and constructive feedback to regarding their performance and work to improve their performance.

3. Data collection and reporting

• Maintain accurate records including the collection of qualitative data (using both electronic and paper-based tools) and ensure timely reporting based on the StrongMinds Zambia reporting calendar.
• Contribute to the understanding of the overall monitoring and evaluation processes alongside the StrongMinds Zambia management and M&E team/department.
• Periodically conduct client-satisfaction and Focus Group Discussions.

4. Networking and partnerships

• Educate and sensitize community leaders, partners, and community members on depression, its effects, the costs of inaction and benefits of treatment so that they can encourage and support women with depression to undertake and complete the course of treatment.
• Actively engage stakeholders to ensure their buy-in and ownership of the StrongMinds talk therapy program.
• Raise awareness and understanding of depression and mental health more broadly among community members, leaders, and stakeholders.

5. Community Engagement

• Develop the Community’s awareness, understanding and engagement with the issues relating to depression, and mental health, in conjunction with the StrongMinds team.
• Assist in planning and implementation sensitization and education campaigns to increase community awareness about issues relating to mental health, SGBV and HIV- linking them to depression.
• Participate in Sensitization, problem solving, dialogue and mediation with the wider population about the people to raise understanding, develop coping strategies and encourage those who need counselling services to contact other Strong Minds Zambia staff members when needed.

4.0. DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Qualifications

• Grade 12 Certificate with 5 ‘O levels including Mathematics and English (Essential).
• Diploma holder in a subject relevant to the role (E.g., Community Psychology, Social Work, Social Administration, Development Studies; Nursing or any relevant health or social work qualification).
• A qualification in Guidance & Counselling (desired).
• Job-related experience, Knowledge and Behaviors
• Minimum 2 years’ experience working with vulnerable people (especially women and girls) on community development and/or self-help groups and programs – preferably in a counselling capacity with deep experience in community engagement, outreach and mobilization specifically for vulnerable groups.
• Tangible experience delivering training programs and/or facilitating sessions.
• Attention to detail.
• Self-driven and able to work under minimum supervision.
• Brave Adventurous, Inquisitive, and willing to learn.
• Trustworthy and honest
• Problem solver.
• Leader with the boundaries of organizational rules, standards, and guidelines
• Open minded and flexible.
• A good understanding of depression and how to treat it using talk and group therapy.
• Excellent communicator, highly attentive to counselling, self-help and participatory methodologies that will interest host communities and facilitate them to open and discuss sensitive topics related to depression.
• An understanding of group dynamics and how to manage these in group therapy settings.
• Able to receive constructive feedback from supervisors.
• Minimum of 1-year experience working with volunteers.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English Language, Chi Nyanja and Chi Bemba.
• Ability and willingness to undertake physical movements between and within communities mostly by public means.

The successful Mental Health Facilitators will also be expected to embrace, and role model the core values of Strongminds:

• We are people focused.
• We think big and act fast.
• We are data driven.
• We do what we say and say what we do.
• We believe in collaboration, not competition.