Organisations providing mental health support for refugee and asylum-seeking children

Amna is a UK-based charity that provides trauma-sensitive, community-led psychosocial support to refugees and displaced communities nationally and internationally. While it supports people of all ages, its core focus is on children, young refugees, and their families through trauma-informed care and early childhood education.

Key programmes on offer include a play-based early childhood programme (Baytna) for children under six and their families, using storytelling, art, and movement to foster emotional resilience; a youth empowerment initiative (Dinami) that offers safe spaces for young people to build confidence and self-expression; therapeutic support both individually and group sessions for adults affected by displacement and violence; training for local organisations and frontline workers to deliver trauma-informed care.

Amna operates in countries such as Greece, Lebanon, Pakistan, and the UK, partnering with local groups to strengthen community healing efforts.

CARE International is a humanitarian agency that delivers life-saving assistance when disaster strikes. It is committed to ending poverty and promoting social justice worldwide.

Operating in many of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable regions, CARE supports communities in improving their quality of life and rebuilding after crises. With a strong emphasis on the empowerment of women and girls, CARE believes that when women are provided the right tools and resources, including access to health care, they can transform not only their own lives but also those of their families and entire communities.

CARE International also provides mental health and psychosocial support to refugees. For instance, in Ukraine, CARE has been actively supporting families, women, and children affected by conflict by employing psychosocial workers to deliver critical services.

Additionally, in refugee camps in Bangladesh, CARE creates safe and secure spaces and conducts workshops specifically for girls and women, offering them protection, emotional support, and education.

Child Helpline International is a non-governmental organisation and a membership-based network that advocates for children's rights, child protection and mental health support.

Child helplines base their work on the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which affirms child’s right to survival; development; protection from harmful influences, abuse, and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

The UNCRC also gives children the right to be heard and to express their views without fear of harm or reprisal. A child helpline provides help, support, and counselling services to children (18 years and under) and/or young people (25 years and under) through online and offline means of communication. 

Children including displaced and refugees can talk with child helpline counsellors about the abuse, neglect, violence, poverty, and exploitation they may be experiencing, their hopes and fears and the worries and concerns they might have, or simply because they need someone to talk to who will listen to them.

Children on the Edge is a UK-based international charity that provides education and protection to marginalised and displaced children around the world. It works closely with local communities, providing emergency assistance, and supporting them to create solutions and work towards independence and sustainability.

The charity offers a number of initiatives to displaced and refugee children living in camp settings, including a play-based learning tool (The Play Programme Assessment Toolbox, PPAT). This enables them to learn, play and recover from trauma in a safe place, ensuring vital pre-school education and early childhood development. The charity operates in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Uganda, and Afghanistan.

ECPAT International is an international network of partner members collectively dedicated to ending the prostitution and trafficking of children. Its key areas of work include ending sexual exploitation of children in all its forms, advocacy and policy influence, research and evidence, capacity building and training.

ECPAT’s website provides information to help children understand their rights and access justice, as well as medical, psychological, and social support services if they have been affected by sexual exploitation or abuse.

Emerging Minds is an Australian non-governmental organisation dedicated to advancing the mental health and emotional wellbeing of infants, children, adolescents, and their families.

It develops mental health policies, interventions, and both in-person and online training programs and resources tailored to the needs of professionals, children, and their families. The organisation emphasises the importance of culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, and early intervention approaches in supporting children's mental health.

Emerging Minds also offers a comprehensive Resource Library that includes research papers, podcasts, webinars, practice papers, factsheets, toolkits, and more. This information can be searched by keyword.

The ICRC is a neutral independent organisation ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for people affected by armed conflict and other violence.

The ICRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and together, they coordinate humanitarian efforts worldwide, especially in response to disasters and crises in conflict zones. The ICRC assists the wounded and sick in conflict zones, visits prisoners of war and detained civilians, and promotes and ensures compliance with International Humanitarian Law.

In addition, it runs the Restoring Family Links (RFL) program, which helps locate and reunite children separated from their families due to conflict, migration, or other crises. ICRC also provides psychological first-aid and counselling, psychosocial support for unaccompanied and separated children to address anxiety, fear, and trauma, and where possible, provision of child-friendly spaces.

The International Medical Corps is a US-based first-responder, humanitarian, non-governmental organisation that delivers emergency medical services to people affected by conflict, disaster, and disease.

The organisation provides mental health and psychosocial support, including counselling for refugees who have experienced trauma; supports water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiatives; delivers long-term development assistance in vulnerable and crisis-affected areas; and offers training for local staff and community members to ensure sustainable, ongoing support.

International Medical Corps also provides therapeutic feeding for malnourished children and nutritional support for pregnant women.

The IRC responds to the world’s humanitarian crises in conflict zones, areas affected by war, civil unrest, or political violence. Through a combination of fieldwork, advocacy, and partnerships, IRC works to restore health, safety, education, economic well-being, and empowerment for people affected by conflict and disaster, including displaced people and refugees.

IRC is committed to building a world where women and girls have equal opportunities to thrive and be protected and it actively works to combat gender-based violence.

IRC also runs the Healing Classrooms programme, creating nurturing educational environments where refugee children can begin to recover from trauma. Through this programme, teachers receive training in trauma-informed care, enabling them to support students' emotional and psychological needs.  

The Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic humanitarian organisation founded by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). It supports refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, and other forcibly displaced people around the world.

JRS offers a broad range of services, including international advocacy for refugee rights and protection, as well as access to education by operating schools, training teachers, and providing learning materials to children in refugee settings. The organisation also offers psychosocial and trauma support, helping refugees heal emotionally and mentally.

Additionally, JRS provides spiritual care to those who seek it, while respecting all religious backgrounds.

The Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre is a free, family-focused service based at British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. The centre supports families who have children or youth up to age 24 with mental health or substance use concerns, including immigrant children.

Services offered include peer support; information & resources and access to guides, toolkits, and educational materials on mental health, substance use, and eating disorders; Ask Kelty Tool, an interactive guide to help families navigate mental health and substance use services in BC; Multi-language mental health resources for families including translation services which are available upon request; school & community resources; and multimedia resources including podcasts, videos, & webinars.

Mental Health and Human Rights Info is an international resource that offers a valuable database containing references, publications, guides, organisations, and more, covering key topics related to mental health and human rights violations in the context of disaster, war, and conflict. The information is organised into thematic pages and the website is available in both English and Spanish.

The website also offers Gender-Based Violence Training Manuals designed for those who support survivors of gender-based violence or train professionals working directly with them. The manuals address working with:

• women

• boys and men

• children

Each manual is available in multiple languages.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is a program administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is coordinated by the UCLA-Duke University National Centre for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS).

The NCTSN website offers a comprehensive set of resources for both the public and professionals who work with children and are concerned about the impact of childhood traumatic stress. It also has a dedicated page to Refugee Trauma. 

To find a specific topic or resource, enter keywords in the search box, or filter by resource type (e.g. factsheet, webinar, video, resource guide, podcast, etc.), trauma type, language, or audience.

Save the Children is a leading international non-profit organisation focused on improving the lives of children around the world, including those displaced by conflict or disaster through better education, health care, emergency aid, and protection from harm. It provides emergency education, health services, child protection, reunites children with families and supports unaccompanied minors.

Save the Children offers mental health and psychosocial support to refugee children worldwide, including art therapy, psychological support from trained professionals to address trauma and emotional distress, and programs that engage parents in supporting children's mental well-being. 

The organisation also hosts an open-access online library that offers reliable and up-to-date materials related to its key focus areas on child rights including advocacy, child health, child poverty, child protection and many more.

Terre des Hommes International Federation is a network of nine organisations across Europe dedicated to children's rights and welfare in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. These rights are set out under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Children’s rights include: the right to education, health, play, family life, a safe standard of living and protection from abuse and harm.

TDHIF offers advocacy, access to justice, emergency and humanitarian aid, family support systems, and community-based health and well-being initiatives. The federation also provides mental health and psychosocial support to children and families worldwide, particularly in regions affected by conflict, migration, and exploitation. 

UNICEF is an international humanitarian organisation dedicated to advocating for and protecting the rights of every child. UNICEF operates in over 190 countries and territories, delivering essential services and support to children in need including refugee and displaced children living in camps.

The organisation works extensively in areas including child protection, education, health and nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), humanitarian assistance, social policy, and advocacy.

In collaboration with partners, UNICEF runs a range of mental health and psychosocial support programs which are designed to address the psychological and social needs of affected children and their families. These include community-based mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings, Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health, and OnMyMind campaign.

In addition, in partnership with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF released guidance on Mental Health of Children and Young People to improve access to mental health care for this population.

UNHCR is the United Nations organisation responsible for protecting and supporting refugees and others displaced by conflict, persecution, or disaster, who have been forced to flee their countries in search of safety. UNHCR provides health services, education, legal support, facilitates voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement.

In addition, it provides specialised mental health and psychosocial support for refugee children including child-friendly spaces, psychosocial activities such as art therapy, play therapy, storytelling, and sports to help children process traumatic experiences; group activities that encourage emotional expression, coping skills, and social interaction; school-based mental health support; family, and community support.

The official website of UNHCR, available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish, provides comprehensive information about its mission, operations, and services for refugees, asylum-seekers, and stateless people around the world. Visit the HELP site to find support and services from UNHCR in various countries.

The War Child Alliance is a global network of War Child organisations committed to protecting, educating, and advocating for children affected by war and conflict. Launched to enhance collaboration and unify global efforts, the Alliance works across countries and regions to deliver consistent, high-quality support to children and their families in some of the world’s most dangerous and unstable environments.

Child protection, education, and advocacy are among the Alliance’s core focus areas. Operating in numerous conflict-affected countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, the Alliance provides a range of mental health initiatives and psychosocial support services, either directly or in collaboration with other agencies, designed to address the psychological impact of war and displacement. These initiatives aim to help young people process trauma, build resilience, and regain a sense of normalcy.

The World Health Organisation is a United Nations agency responsible for international public health. It works to promote health, keep the world safe by coordinating international responses to health emergencies, setting international health standards, and supporting countries in achieving better health outcomes.

Its priorities include disease prevention and the promotion of well-being of people including refugees and displaced population worldwide. In partnership with UNICEF, WHO launched a joint programme on Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-being and Development of Children and Adolescents across several countries. The initiative focuses on promoting nurturing environments and improved access to quality mental health promotion, protection, and care for young people.

The official WHO website provides extensive resources on health topics, data and research, health guidelines, and updates on disease outbreaks and public health initiatives.

World Vision International is a Christian humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and communities, including refugees and displaced people, to overcome poverty and injustice around the world.

The organisation focuses on key areas such as child protection, advocacy, education, health, nutrition, access to clean water, shelter, and faith and development. It also provides emergency responses to crises in various parts of the world.

World Vision International offers a range of mental health and psychosocial support programs, particularly focusing on children and families affected by conflict, disaster, and poverty. Through its Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions (EASE) initiative, World Vision provides mental health and psychosocial supports to adolescents and their caregivers to help them manage stress, anxiety, and trauma.

In addition, World Vision provides child-friendly spaces in humanitarian emergencies where children can engage in psychosocial activities allowing them to play and heal. The organisation also employs art therapy as a tool for children to express emotions and experiences that may be difficult to verbalise. This creative approach aids in emotional healing and provides a non-verbal outlet for processing trauma.