Phiona Kioyet

SR. TECHNICAL ADVISOR, MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT

Phiona is a psychologist and expert in mental health and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response, with more than 18 years of experience in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and SGBV programming. She also brings four years of clinical experience in hospitals and HIV programming settings.

She represents World Vision International in nine global MHPSS inter-agency, research, and technical advisory groups. These include the IASC Reference Group on MHPSS; the Technical Trial Steering Committee for CHANGE; and the Scientific and Practice Board of MHPSS in Humanitarian Crises. Phiona also serves as a subject panel expert for UNICEF- and WHO-led psychological interventions for children aged 5-10, and she is a member of the editorial boards of the Conflict and Health and the Social Determinants of Mental Health collection.

As a researcher, Phiona has led multiple studies as a principal investigator, co-investigator, and collaborator. In 2017, she received the runner-up Science Pitch Award at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum for her presentation on supporting men to manage common mental health problems as a means of preventing intimate partner violence.

Phiona was part of the lead team from Kenya that completed the Problem Management Plus (PM+) randomised control trial, demonstrating the intervention's effectiveness. She is deployable to all World Vision country offices to support the implementation of high-quality MHPSS programmes. She has published and contributed to numerous works in reputable journals, as well as to SGBV and MHPSS blogs, manuals, books, and peer-reviewed articles - all of which can be accessed on the Mental Health Publications page.

Phiona holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Psychology and Community Development from Daystar University, Nairobi, and a Master of Arts in Gender and Development from the University of Nairobi. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London. She also holds several institutional accreditations, including Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Certification from Princeton University.