The communities of Iraqi Kurdistan have faced countless struggles over the years, many of which have left people with physical and mental wounds. In a country where mental health services are limited, the aim of the Kurdistan Mental Health Project is to train a new generation of psychologists to help Kurdistan’s society deal better with the region's traumatic legacy from decades of conflict.

The Kurdistan Mental Health Project will begin a year's training to international standards for 30 young professional psychologists in new techniques of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This treatment, a core and the most effective therapeutic approach according to extensive research, is almost unknown in the region, where what little psychiatric help there is only tries to cover up such problems through medication.

We have successfully acquired funding for the first two years of the project which has now kicked off the training of the first cadre of therapists, but we now look to secure a medium-term future for the programme. We are open to joint funding approaches across the planned five years.

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