Supporting those who experience trauma

A stress and trauma management package should be in place to support staff who work in dangerous places. This should include:

• Adequate briefing and training related to current security issues and trauma.
• Good ongoing support and communication as the situation changes.
• Evacuation arrangements. If the organization needs to evacuate, consider the impact on national staff. What provision can the organization make for their safety? Are you able to continue to pay them during the crisis?
• Help as needed following any traumatic incidents. The initial help is likely to be practical (e.g. payment for hospital bills if staff are injured during an armed attack at the NGO base; paid sickness leave or leave of absence to attend funerals etc). There may also be a need for psychological assistance. For example, if staff are subject to an armed attack, they may benefit from psychological first aid or Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)⁸, brief trauma therapy, or other culturally appropriate activities. Care should be taken to fins skilled, experienced practitioners who can provide high-quality interventions. Staff who do not wish to participate should be allowed to opt out.

Over time, most staff will recover naturally from the psychological impact of trauma. For some, this may take several months during which they may be unable to work at their usual capacity. A minority of people may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, and require professional treatment. See Headington Institute’s module on Trauma and critical incident care for humanitarian workers for common symptoms of trauma and ideas of where to obtain further help or information. A list of counselors worldwide who are interested in providing assistance to humanitarian workers is provided in the Headington Institute’s CARD Directory (Counselors Assisting Relief & Development). This Directory lists languages spoken, areas of expertise, and other information.

	Stop and Think What support is available to your national staff to protect them from trauma and from post-traumatic stress? How easy is it for them to make use of that support? Have any of your national staff experienced trauma? How has it affected them? How do you know? What further support might they need?

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