Emotional Wellness and Trauma Care

​

The Problem:  Our work exists to help foster a sustainable model of emotional care to refugees scattered throughout the nations.  This is needed in order to respond to the growing needs of refugees who are suffering from the impact of trauma both during their refugee experience and after settlement in their destination country.  For many and perhaps most, the effects of unresolved trauma worsens after settlement.  Deep depression, suicidal thoughts, marital and family conflicts, anxiety, substance abuse, and addictions are common issues they suffer.  Millions do not have access to professional counselling services; even when they do, those are limited and rarely affordable resources for them.  The problem becomes worse when considering the generational impact of these unresolved and untreated traumas.

​

Our Answer:  We seek to create groups of trained local community leaders who can use simplified trauma care tools to provide basic emotional care to the people they serve.  Our first goal is to train individuals how to properly care for and be present with someone who is hurting. Our second goal is the multiplication factor, where those who have been trained can facilitate trainings while also providing direct care to those in their community.  This is how we seek to deliver consistent emotional care across the diaspora communities.  Our desire is to enable as many people as possible to be caring friends for their children, family members, neighbors, and community. Our hope is that all those who are suffering emotionally and are desperate for help will have access to someone who knows how to care for and be present with them as they process their traumatic experiences, while also working towards resilience and a thriving future.  This healing and future will be rooted in a movement from their current identity as a victim to a new identity as a thriving child of a loving God.

​

Methods:  We have worked with our partners in the professional mental health community to develop tools and methods that have been simplified in order to be remembered and administered.  All tools and methods must be contextualized and translated to meet the needs of the people groups and languages of those we are serving.  The people we serve are often illiterate or barely literate in their own language, so our philosophy of care must be predominately demonstrative and visual.  Our materials and therapies are designed to help those we train move from “trauma informed” to “trauma sensitivity”.  This is done utilizing modules including but not limited to:  Counseling First Aid (CFA), Traffic Lights (Colors of the Brain), Imaging and Basic Art Therapy, Core Identity and Belief Systems, and Integration Training.

​

Results and reactions:  We consistently witness results of joy and freedom following our sessions.  The feedback we receive speaks to the participants having found words to express their inner processing, pictures to understand themselves, and tools for healing, managing, and communicating their feelings.  Our return visits to the various locations of training are often joy filled times of reflection.  These reflections usually center on how the learned tools have changed not only the lives of those who were given access to this experience, but also the lives of their families and communities.  We define success as the development of resilience and a thriving future where the participants can now face life’s daily challenges.