10. Giacaman, R., and Mikki, N. Psycho-Social/Mental Health Care in the West Bank: the Embryonic System. Birzeit: BZUICPH, 2003: 7pp.

The Centre for Continuing Education, Birzeit University, is currently undertaking a 3-year project with the aim of promoting a sector wide strategic approach to the development of psychosocial counseling services. This report presents the findings of the project’s base line survey on the nature and extent of current provision of social work, counseling and therapeutic services in the West Bank. It represents the beginning of a process of ongoing assessment of the terrain of psycho-social/mental health care in Palestine. The aims of the baseline survey were to map the extent of institutional provision of psycho-social/mental health services in the West Bank, to gain a picture of the type of work being undertaken by psychosocial/ mental health personnel and the approaches and methods used, to identify the main obstacles that are encountered in the provision of psycho-social counseling services and to identify what employers and counselors see as their principal learning and development needs.