Page 192 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

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Kelly O’Donnell and Michèle Lewis-O’Donnell

Global Integration

Addressing the Pressing Issues Facing Our World

Overview and Opportunities for Mental Health

Professionals

Today we are also taking a decision of great historic significance. We resolve to build a better future
for all people, including the millions who have been denied the chance to lead decent, dignified and
rewarding lives and to achieve their full human potential. We can be the first generation to succeed in
ending poverty; just as we may be the last to have a chance of saving the planet.
United Nations, Transforming our World (2015, excerpt from paragraph 50)

Global integration (GI) is a framework that we emphases as collectively “building the future we
have been developing over the past five years, as want-being the people we need.”
we consider, like so many others, how to help
make our troubled world a better place. We have
found this framework to be relevant for the in-
creasing numbers of mental health professio-
nals (MHPs) and colleagues across sectors (e.g.,
mission, health, humanitarian, development)
who want to be meaningfully involved in our
globalizing world. This brief paper overviews GI
and encourages MHPs to take advantage of the
many opportunities to improve the wellbeing of
all people and the planet.
Cover detail, Global Member Care: Crossing
Overview of GI Sectors for Serving Humanity (2013)
We define GI as actively integrating our lives
with global realities by connecting relationally As psychologists working in the mission/aid sec-
and contributing relevantly on behalf of hu- tor, we have been particularly interested in ap-
man wellbeing and the issues facing humanity, plications of GI for mission/aid personnel. For
in light of our integrity and core values (e.g., some examples from our work, see “Field Con-
ethical, humanitarian, faith-based). Crossing sultations: Risk, Resilience, Relevance, and Re-
sectors for mutual learning and support is a key lationships” (O’Donnell and Lewis O’Donnell,
process of GI. A related term we use is “Global 2015a). It describes how we set up and do field
Integrators,” colleagues of integrity who link consults and describes multi-sectoral resources
their skills, values, and relationships on behalf that we have used in recent member care trips
of major issues in our world. Some key features (e.g., tools for assessment and personal growth).
of the GI framework are the emphases on inte-
grity/character along with skills/competencies, We have focused substantially on GI in the
sharing one’s life in addition to offering useful mental health context (GI-MH) and especially
services, and relationships. We summarize these global mental health (GMH) and mental heath-

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