Wellbeing Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers
School of Psychology
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School of Psychology
Wellbeing Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers
Prolonged experience to working with elevated trauma can lead to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety for ‘front line’ workers (Connorton, Perry, Hemenway & Miller, 2012). It is vital that international humanitarian organisations make available to their workers (international and particularly national staff) suitable and multiple mechanisms for supporting their personal wellbeing and professional effectiveness of their work.
Project overview
- Resourcing and supporting aid workers’ mental health is recognised as crucial to ensuing efficacy and sustainability of all psychosocial interventions (Min-Harris, 2011).
- The School of Psychology’s MSc Humanitarian Intervention created a wellbeing portal to offer mental health and wellbeing support to international health care practitioners and humanitarian aid workers.
- The portal provides a variety of resources (video-clips on supporting mental health, yoga, mindfulness; reading materials; monthly webinars/ online workshops run by UEL staff, MSc students and external leading experts in the field, offering experiential, culturally sensitive inputs to support mental health of ‘front line’ staff).
Future work
In collaboration with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy and Save The Children we are creating online delivery of training and training for trainers on counselling skills for staff of international humanitarian organisations operating in volatile areas of conflicts and disasters.
Project leads
- Dr Lucia Berdondini
- Dr Jeeda Alhakim
