Throughout March 2020 we are exploring mental health services for national staff. When international organisations are developing psychological support structures for their staff, the level of provision in country has to be part of the conversation, both for national and international staff. At FD Consultants, we have the capacity and knowledge to build robust support pathways for teams across the globe. We have carried out extensive mapping to understand where services exist in country, and where they are not adequate. Where information is lacking, we can carry out research to understand what services are on offer. Where services are lacking, we have the capacity to deliver specialist services. We also have associates in countries across the world, with whom we have personal experience of working. All of our therapists have gone through a robust interview and assessment process; they are accredited with demonstrable experience working with trauma. Our therapists are culturally competent, drawn from the countries in which they provide services. We do all of this to ensure that we can provide the best possible mental health care for all people. FD Consultants offer psychosocial support and trauma specialist services, including supporting organisations and staff through a critical incident. Staff working in the Humanitarian and Human Rights sector are at significant risk of psychological ill-health. National and local staff experience high levels of trauma symptoms, depression and anxiety; often living and breathing trauma every day whilst trying to survive in warzones or conflict-ridden environments, and also coping with everyday adversities, such as lack of food, clean water and access to medical care. Lack of security and a deteriorating situation has a great impact on the mental health of a population.
After working on wellbeing projects in Gaziantep and South Sudan we recorded 41% of the Turkish and Syrian staff, and 54% of the staff based in South Sudan, were experiencing high levels of trauma symptoms (suggesting a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]). One of the organisations increased organisational resilience by senior staff attending psychological support sessions, challenging stigma and role modelling good self-care. The importance of peer support, building collaborative working with local services, or training local services (if necessary), enables psychosocial support to become accessible and continuous, rather than a ‘tick box’ exercise, that can leave staff feeling resentful and perplexed. The goal of peer support is in developing systems and practices that develop internal sustainability around wellbeing. If staff are being supported on a regular, on-going basis, the goal is that wellbeing is improved, the impact of chronic and traumatic stress is mitigated, and the need for specialised services is reduced. One aid worker summed up how she felt her national colleagues were supported, ‘My experience and that of many other aid workers is that national staff support is either non-existent or sub-par. As far as I know there are no psychosocial care options provided for national staff. They don’t get health insurance and the only psychosocial care international staff are offered is via our health insurance - and normally resources have to be found back in-home countries. Some options exist for [remote] support but it isn’t set up for national staff to access. It is a massive service gap.’ ‘Local staff working in conflict contexts are exposed to risk and critical incidents on a regular basis and often carry previous traumas from having grown up in a violent conflict context or having been a refugee from a young age. We seem to completely ignore this fact and apply such double standards (NGO wellbeing officer). At FD Consultants we offer peer support training, psychological screening and trauma awareness training. If you want to find out more about how to best support national staff please email us on [email protected]. Fiona Dunkley (Founder of FD Consultants) For organisations looking for employee psychological support, FD Consultants are the trauma specialists and well-being service who will best deliver a reliable, quick, and bespoke support system in the workplace. FD Consultant’s team of accredited specialists will offer ongoing support to help manage stress, prevent burnout and provide specialist trauma care where required, enabling your staff with the tools to cope, and recover more quickly. Get in touch with us today
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