Encouraging the growing momentum around staff wellbeing in the humanitarian and human rights sectors19/7/2020 Throughout July FD Consultants want to highlight the diverse expertise and professionalism amongst its associates. Arianna Rondos is a UKCP accredited psychotherapist. She specialises in refugees, trauma and psychological wellbeing of humanitarian and human rights workers. In addition to her psychological training she has an MA in Human Rights Law and has worked and lived internationally. Arianna offers psychological and research services for FD Consultants. “I found our session incredibly helpful! I had a post deployment assessment with another service provider back in 2015, and the person I spoke to then had almost no understanding of the type of work I did, and the unique stresses of the humanitarian environment. Your experience and deep engagement with the humanitarian sector is evident and really made the session meaningful to me.” (Humanitarian staff feedback) I joined FD Consultants at the start of 2019 with an academic and professional background in the fields of human rights, international development and gender-based violence (GBV) and with a clinical focus on refugees and trauma. Having lived internationally, in the Middle East, Balkans and in Europe during these years, I also had some knowledge of the aid sector field context. It was this experience which motivated me to broaden my clinical focus to include those who provide support to vulnerable communities and which led me to join FD Consultants as an Associate. I wanted to be involved in and to encourage the growing momentum around staff wellbeing in the humanitarian and human rights sectors. And, to acknowledge the value of my own struggle in appreciating how a desire to address the needs of the most vulnerable can lead one to neglect their own self-care. While my particular experience is not a prerequisite for this work, when significant in some way to the experience of the individual being supported, it can elicit what I have understood as a kind of ‘relief’. A relief, as some have described, in not ‘feeling like I have to spend most of the time explaining the way I live and work rather than what is actually going on for me’. At FD Consultants we attend to each of our clients in this way, with trauma specialist expertise and an understanding of the unique contexts in which humanitarian, human rights staff and first responders work. When meeting a person for the first time I will introduce myself with a little information about my background, which I provide as a way of letting them know that I can, in a way, speak the language of their work/life context. With each consultation I draw upon this experience and understanding of the sector to recognise and highlight the unique and meaningful ways a person is supporting their own resilience as well as where they might benefit from attending to themselves with more care. When working with trauma, I seek to convey that, while trained and experienced in this field, I am equally respectful of the uniqueness of their experience. Most recently, as part of the COVID-19 humanitarian response, FD Consultants’ Associates have been carrying out consultations with humanitarian aid staff preparing to deploy, the majority of whom are well seasoned in epidemic emergency settings. Much of their preparation and expectation, which I hear reflected in their calm yet adrenaline infused tone, is relevant to the COVID context. Some have already been on the frontlines at home, ‘facing shortages, infected colleagues, family members and an array of unknowns’, as one staff described. Others are prepared for these realities once on the ground. In support of this, our consultations focus on strengthening innate resilience. And, as I listen and inquire, I encourage the importance of self-care and boundaries by reinforcing responsibility for oneself, including taking breaks, not pushing beyond breaking point, as well as openly voicing concerns with the team leader. Given the global nature of the humanitarian and human rights sectors, our work often involves crossing cultures, ethnicities, religious affiliation, gender, sexuality and, when supporting young volunteers, generations. It also often involves crossing boarders, at the least, and, more often, continents, through video link or audio, and not always with an ideal internet connection. Yet, whether I am asking someone who has never undergone a psychological evaluated to share their experience or I am assessing someone following a traumatic incident, I am regularly struck by the openness with which I am met. And, how, whether speaking to national staff or deployed internationals, they will often describe a sense of personal responsibility, not only towards their work, but towards the wellbeing of their team’s, colleagues, organisations and, most of all, the communities they work in. With each of these interactions, I find myself both exponentially impressed by the work of humanitarian and human rights organisations as well as conscious of the work that still remains in destigmatising and normalising the inherent psychological stresses that accompany their efforts. FD Consultants appreciates the multifaceted nature of this responsibility and understands how organisations, which are increasingly committed to the wellbeing of their staff, can foster healthy working environments, which in turn support the communities they work with. By building relationships with these organisations, providing individual services to their staff and, by providing vital monitoring and evaluation, FD Consultants directly contributes to achieving the goals and objectives of the humanitarian sector through enhancing its duty of care policies. 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.
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