Mental Health Service Structure for Yazidi IDPs in Khanke

This encyclopedia entry surveys the organization of mental‑health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for Yazidi internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in the Khanke camp, northern Iraq. Drawing on recent field reports and programme documentation, it outlines institutional actors, service modalities, gender‑specific interventions, and the challenges that shape care delivery.

Khanke mental‑health services (Kurmanji: Xizmeta tenduristiya rûhî ya Yezîdî li Khankê) are a network of trauma‑informed, community‑based programmes that provide case management, counselling, legal assistance, and awareness‑raising for women, girls, and survivors of sexual‑gender‑based violence (SGBV) (Free Yezidi Foundation, 2025).

Pronunciation & orthography

Kurmanji spelling: Xizmeta tenduristiya rûhî ya Yezîdî li Khankê.
Arabic script: خزمەتا تەندوریستیا ڕوهي يا يئزدي لي خانكێ.
Cyrillic variant (used by diaspora scholars): Хизмета тeндуристиа руhи я Йезиди ли Ханке.
IPA: /χizˈmɛta tɛnˈduɾistija ˈɾuːhi ja jeˈzidi li ˈxanke/.
Common English misspellings: “Yazidi mental health services”, “Khanke psychosocial aid”.

Main exposition

Institutional framework

The core provider is the Free Yezidi Foundation (FYF) protection team, a 16‑member unit operating in Khanke and the nearby Sheikhan camp. FYF coordinates with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Directorate for Survivors Affairs, and the UN‑HCR to ensure referral pathways and resource pooling (Free Yezidi Foundation, 2025; IOM, 2025).

Service delivery modalities

Services are delivered through three complementary channels:

• Case management: Individual intake, risk assessment, and a personalised care plan that links beneficiaries to counselling, legal aid, and livelihood support.
• Therapeutic interventions: Weekly group sessions (e.g., trauma‑focused cognitive‑behavioural therapy) and one‑on‑one counselling conducted by trained Kurdish‑speaking psychologists and social workers.
• Awareness and prevention: Community workshops on stress management, SGBV prevention, and rights education, often held in collaboration with local religious leaders.

All interventions follow a trauma‑informed approach that respects Yazidi cultural concepts of spiritual healing, such as the role of the qewl (sacred hymn) in emotional regulation (IOM, 2025).

Gender‑specific interventions

Given the disproportionate impact of the 2014 genocide on Yazidi women, a dedicated SGBV unit provides safe spaces, medical referrals, and legal representation. The unit’s staff includes female counsellors who conduct home‑visits for pregnant survivors and mothers with young children (Free Yezidi Foundation, 2025).

Community participation and referral networks

Community Health Workers (CHWs) recruited from the camp act as the first point of contact, identifying cases of acute distress and channeling them to the protection team. A formal referral system, co‑managed by IOM, tracks each case from identification through service completion, ensuring accountability and data collection (IOM, 2025).

Funding and sustainability

Funding streams include European Union humanitarian grants, Canadian micro‑grant programmes for women’s empowerment, and occasional UN allocations. The 2024 Iraqi Ministry of Migration’s plan to close displacement camps threatened programme continuity, prompting NGOs to diversify donor bases and to advocate for the integration of services into host‑community health centres (Wadi et al., 2025).

Challenges and gaps

Key challenges include:

• Reduced staffing after the 2025 USAID dismantlement, leading to increased caseloads.
• Stigma surrounding mental‑health care, especially among older men who prefer traditional religious rites.
• Limited infrastructure for long‑term follow‑up after camp closure.

In the oral tradition

Yazidi oral literature stresses the healing power of sacred songs. A frequently recited qewl, Qewla Zêde, urges listeners to “let the wind carry away the darkness of the heart.” This verse is invoked by counsellors to bridge clinical language with indigenous concepts of spiritual cleansing.

“Bê hezaran lêvê çavê min, çavê tehlîlê rûhî, bi qewlê re dibe ava.” – Qewlê Zêde (translation: “When the eyes of sorrow flood, the soul’s analysis finds relief through the hymn.”)

Scholarly disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that Western‑style psychotherapy should be the cornerstone of post‑genocide recovery, asserting that “evidence‑based cognitive techniques reduce PTSD prevalence more reliably than ritual alone.”¹ In contrast, Açıkyıldız reads the same field data as evidence that integrating qewl chanting with therapy yields higher engagement among Yazidi women, contending that “cultural resonance is essential for sustained mental‑health outcomes.”²

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

While Khanke’s model emphasises a protection‑team backbone, other Yazidi sites display distinct patterns:

• Sinjar (Iraq): Services are delivered primarily through mobile clinics linked to local health directorates.
• Sheikhan (Iraq): Greater reliance on community‑led peer support groups.
• Syria: Limited formal MHPSS; assistance is mostly humanitarian cash‑for‑care.
• Turkey & Caucasus diaspora: NGOs focus on psycho‑education and diaspora‑based support networks rather than on‑site counselling.

Timeline

Data table