Illustrative: tracers on the Lorenz attractor, a canonical coupled nonlinear system

Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Course catalogue · Health and Society

Human Development, Work and Social Policy

Mental health and psychosocial risk

Mental health and psychosocial risk, taught twice over: as the working methods of the field and as its frontier since 2024, with labs on the Academy's tools, open data and the Nexus Standards.

Core course Frontier course

The discipline

01Core course · L2 Intermediate

Mental health and psychosocial risk: foundations and practice

This area covers mental health as a dimension of risk: the psychological effects of disasters, conflict, displacement and climate change, psychosocial risk at work, and the services and community support that protect mental health.

Level
L2 Intermediate
Study time
about 24 hours (planning estimate)
Status
Planned
Prerequisites
An L1 course in the area, or an entry review

Why now

WHO's 2022 World Mental Health Report and its guidelines on mental health at work, together with ISO 45003 (2021) on psychosocial risk, made psychosocial hazards a managed risk, while surveys document climate distress among young people. World Health Organization, World mental health report, 2022

Learning outcomes

  1. Define MHPSS and the other key terms of the discipline and use them correctly in a written case
  2. Explain mental health in emergencies and disasters and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian settings with a worked example and its source
  3. Apply the discipline's method to a documented case and explain each result with its source
  4. Analyse a named case against trauma, post-traumatic stress and resilience, stating evidence, date and limits

Modules

  1. Mental health in emergencies and disasters
    • Mental health in emergencies and disasters
    • Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian settings
    • Trauma, post-traumatic stress and resilience
  2. Psychosocial risk at work
    • Psychosocial risk at work
    • Climate change and mental health, including eco-anxiety
    • Displacement, conflict and mental health
  3. Suicide prevention
    • Suicide prevention
    • Community-based psychosocial support
    • Measurement of mental health and well-being
  4. Lab: the discipline's method
    • In a population affected by conflict or disaster a known share develops a mental disorder that needs care; that share times the population, times a coverage target, divided by the cases one trained helper can carry in a year, is the workforce a response must find, and task-sharing is what makes the number reachable.
    • Work the method through a documented case and explain each result
    • Read the method's sources and stated values

Labs with Academy tools

Assessment

  • 40%Lab recordWork the discipline's method through a documented case and explain each result with its source and date
  • 40%Case memoApply the discipline's methods to a named place or organisation, stating evidence and limits
  • 20%Key terms checkShort answers on the key terms, marked against the definitions

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Intermediate, 4 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

References

  1. Charlson and others, New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2019
  2. Inter-Agency Standing Committee, Guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings, 2007
  3. Patel and others, The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development, 2018
02Live map

Environmental exposure in India

Haze, nitrogen dioxide, dust, surface heat by day and night, and where people live, over India.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 2

Environmental exposure

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Environmental exposure, framed on India.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONETSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS and VIIRS atmosphere products, NASA LANCE and LAADS DAAC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • OMI nitrogen dioxide (Aura) and OMPS aerosol index (Suomi NPP), NASA; distributed by the NASA GES DISC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MERRA-2 reanalysis, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office; distributed by the NASA GES DISC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
  • NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Air quality forecast, 5 days, PM2.5 (CAMS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information 2026.
  • Past year, daily temperature (ERA5 via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
  • Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
  • Optional layers (12 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Aerosol optical depth, daily: VIIRS NOAA-20 Deep Blue AOD, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Nitrogen dioxide, lower atmosphere column: OMI Aura, NASA GES DISC · 10 Oct 2026
  • Surface dust PM2.5, monthly mean: MERRA-2, NASA GMAO / GES DISC · July 2026
  • Land surface temperature, night, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026

03How learning runs

How learning runs, as a process you can run

Select a scenario and press Play: course, pathway, practice, faculty, cells and record.

04What is changing

What is changing, with standards and evidence

Mental health and psychosocial risk: frontier methods

The methods, data, tools and studies that changed mental health and psychosocial risk between 2024 and 2026, taught by reproducing them on open data.

Level
L3 Advanced
Study time
about 28 hours (planning estimate)
Status
Planned
Prerequisites
Mental health and psychosocial risk: foundations and practice; Working knowledge of a scripting language (Python or R) for the labs

Why now

WHO's 2022 World Mental Health Report and its guidelines on mental health at work, together with ISO 45003 (2021) on psychosocial risk, made psychosocial hazards a managed risk, while surveys document climate distress among young people. World Health Organization, World mental health report, 2022

Learning outcomes

  1. Explain what changed in mental health and psychosocial risk since 2024 and cite the studies, data or rules behind each change
  2. Reproduce psychosocial hazards at work on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  3. Evaluate a 2024 to 2026 study: its question, data, method, limits and what it changes for practice
  4. Design an analysis that combines a frontier method with the faculty's instruments, and justify each choice

Modules

  1. Psychosocial hazards at work
    • ISO 45003 hazard categories
    • Measurement instruments and their validity
    • Controls and their evaluation
  2. Mental health in emergencies
    • The IASC MHPSS intervention pyramid
    • Psychological first aid
    • Long-term follow-up after disasters
  3. Population risk
    • Burden estimates and treatment gaps
    • Climate distress and eco-anxiety evidence
    • Digital mental health and its risks
  4. Reproduction lab
    • Extend the discipline's method with one frontier method and compare its results
    • State the uncertainty and the limits of the result
    • Peer review against a shared checklist
  5. Technology that helps and the risks it carries
    • AI-assisted diagnostics, genomic surveillance and digital health.
    • Ransomware in hospitals, AI medical device risk, biosecurity and neurotechnology.

Labs with Academy tools

Assessment

  • 50%Method reproductionReproduce one frontier method on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  • 30%Study reviewA critical review of a 2024 to 2026 study: question, data, method, limits, what it changes
  • 20%Peer reviewReview two other learners' reproductions against a shared checklist

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Expert, 5 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

References

  1. World Health Organization, World mental health report, 2022
  2. World Health Organization, WHO guidelines on mental health at work, 2022
  3. ISO, ISO 45003:2021 Psychological health and safety at work, 2021
  4. The Lancet Planetary Health, Climate anxiety in children and young people (Hickman et al.), 2021
  5. Charlson and others, New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2019
  6. Inter-Agency Standing Committee, Guidelines on mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings, 2007
  7. Patel and others, The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development, 2018
05Take part

Take part in the work

Start from who you are.

06Questions

Questions, answers and key terms

Is the course free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the course?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.

Key terms

Term

MHPSS

Mental health and psychosocial support: any support that protects or promotes psychosocial well-being or treats mental disorder.

Term

Psychological first aid

Humane, supportive and practical help for people in distress after a crisis.

Term

Psychosocial risk

A hazard at work arising from how work is organised and managed, such as excessive demands or harassment.

Term

Post-traumatic stress disorder

A disorder that can follow exposure to a traumatic event, marked by intrusion, avoidance and hyperarousal.

ReportsContribute

Contribute evidence from this page.

Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

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