The Training of Trainers

The main message of the Training of Trainers

The main message of the training of trainers is: training is an interactive process in which trainers and participants cooperate in order to further develop their insights, knowledge and skills.

Training methods used in the training of trainers

The following methods are included in the program: giving short lectures, group discussion and group reporting, role-play exercises1 and some expressive and relaxation techniques.

The training program

Basic assumptions

The goal of the training program is to improve the psychosocial climate of the school. A well functioning school offers a safe, supportive and motivating environment for all students. It also provides some basic psychological and psychosocial assistance to children with special needs, and to those who are traumatised.

The protective role of school

An important life space

The mental health of children, their psychosocial development and their chances to overcome war related adversities, all depend on the organisation and quality of their every day life.

Training teachers in areas of armed conflict: basic principles

This manual describes a psychosocial program for teachers in areas of armed conflict. It was developed within the framework of Slovene Philanthropy and carried out in Slovenia with Bosnian refugee teachers. During the war I also worked with teachers in Bosnia. Later, CARE International implemented the program in Kosovo, and in North Caucasus. After the creation of the Foundation ‘Together’, the program was adapted to post conflict circumstances to be implemented in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, North Osetia and Iraq.

The importance of good people

The design and composition of a psychosocial program is determined by many factors. One factor of a practical nature is the circumstances under which the program will be run. Definitions of circumstances can include both the needs of the population where the programme will take place, but must also include a thorough understanding of the local facilities available. For example: you can’t rely on video equipment or a PowerPoint presentation as a feature of training when local availability of electricity may be erratic.

Introduction Training teachers in areas of armed conflict, Intervention Supplement

Introduction

It is a Sunday morning and the group gathers in a hotel that has seen better days, on the outskirts of the small town of Prizren, south of Kosovo and close to the Albanian and Macedonian border. It is last day of a psychosocial training seminar for teachers who have been working in the poor and war-affected area of Skenderaj, a province north of Kosovo. Inside the rooms, it may look quiet, but this is only an illusion.

Psycho-education and psychosocial support in the Netherlands; a program by and for refugees

This article is about a community based intervention program in the Netherlands. In this program,, asylum seekers and refugees are trained to provide psycho-education and psychosocial support to fellow groups of refugees and asylum seekers. These trained refugees work in their own language and culture, with a professional coach from a local mental health institute. The group courses consist of psycho-education, psychosocial support and empowerment. On the one hand, they raise awareness of problems like trauma, mourning, stress, feelings of guilt, acculturation, alcohol and drug abuse.

Supervising psychosocial counselling teams in Kosovo: personal reflections

Foreign experts are often distant and alienated from the host culture in areas where they are working. It is a difficult task to be involved in a proper manner and yet maintain boundaries. In Kosovo such a mutual involvement is known as ‘besa’. It is not something that can be learned intellectually, but has to be created through daily practice. This paper is a personal account of the ways I have struggled with the dynamics of the process during the supervision of psychosocial counselling teams in the field,.

Key word: supervision

 

Music therapy in war-effected areas

To date, no research has been conducted on the field of music therapy within international humanitarian aid. The aims of this study are to explore the situation in more detail and to include descriptions of organisations and projects that are involved in the psychosocial aid of trauma survivors in areas of post-conflict using music therapy. The article will give an outline of programmes, describe their work,, and serve as an information source for other organisations involved in international mental health aid.

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