Mental health and psychosocial support during ongoing armed conflict: position paper of the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress.

In this position paper, we highlight the urgent need for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) systems adapted to the realities of populations affected by ongoing armed conflicts and, therefore, continuous traumatic stress. Existing frameworks largely address post-disaster contexts, offering limited guidance for settings of sustained threat. Drawing on an extensive literature search, a scoping review on MHPSS during ongoing armed conflicts, and clinical experience, we outline key mental health challenges during ongoing armed conflict and identify a critical gap in scalable, culturally responsive interventions. Based on this analysis, we propose recommendations across policy, training, staff care, and research domains. We advocate for trauma-informed, rights-based, participatory, and adaptive care systems that strengthen local capacity, integrate measurement-based approaches, and utilize digital and transdiagnostic stepped-care models. Through this paper, we aim to catalyse research, inspire innovation, and encourage global collaboration to more effectively support the mental health of communities living under the enduring strain of armed conflict.