The certificate course in Mental Health in Complex Emergencies is a week long training course for mental health professionals and program staff who wish to establish mental health or psychosocial programs in a humanitarian context within conflict and post-conflict areas.

The course will aim to provide a practical orientation and training, including how to conduct rapid assessments, designing and setting up mental health services or psychosocial programs (exploring the differences between them), clinical work and therapeutic approaches in non-western contexts. It addresses the issues of cultural validity, conflict resolution and negotiation, taking care of oneself and dealing with burnout. The course will also introduce potential field workers to essentials such as personal security, logistics, and practical aspects of humanitarian work in the field.

The training program targets health, and other professionals, wishing to gain a better understanding of what is entailed in addressing mental health and psychosocial issues in complex emergencies and humanitarian settings.

The MHCE community now numbers over 90 graduates from over 21 nations, the great majority of whom are aid workers with field experience. MHCE graduates and faculty represent most UN agencies, as well as all major non-governmental humanitarian organizations, and military, diplomatic, academic, political, and religious groups from around the world.