Our psychosocial support methodology is founded on a public health approach that assumes the following:
- Most illnesses are preventable, including various types of mental illness.
- Individual wellness is grounded in the community.
- The community itself contains many solutions to its own health needs and already has devised many techniques to encourage resilience and wellness.
See WHO’s page for details on the community’s role and the importance of self-care in ensuring wellness and supportive community processes. See the diagram below:
Basic PSS care has tremendous positive impact on communities. With minimal training, people can connect with their inner source of resilience and to that of their community. Through the appropriate kind of attention, healing begins. Focusing Initiatives International teachers/facilitators practice these skills and share them with others through our innovative and culturally appropriate programs. To tap into this local wisdom, we identify those who are already recovering and thriving. We learn from them, adopt and adapt strategies, and help them share their experiences with others in their community.
Through our process, community members:
- find the resilience to address problems
- improve community connections
- change how they face the stresses of daily life
- overcome creative blocks
- explore spiritual connections in their inner lives
- discover how they can be part of positive changes in the world