| The importance of mental health in the field of international development is gaining the attention of intergovernmental agencies, governments, academics, and non-governmental organizations (NGO's). Using grounded theory and content analysis in NVivo, this study examined the efforts CIDA is making to uphold international standards of human rights as they pertain to mental health and brought attention to the type of mental health interventions being supported by CIDA. This analysis provided an in depth examination of forty seven (47) CIDA project abstracts and one CIDA project approval document. Psychosocial interventions, emerged as the preferred response to mental health issues in conflict/post conflict and post natural disaster situations. It was concluded that social workers are well suited to implement psychosocial programs in international development. Furthermore, the data indicated that C1DA's budget for mental health is relatively low and provides evidence that the value placed on mental health interventions within CIDA is not major. |
