Steps towards empowerment for community healing

After surviving a recent massacre in the north ofthe Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of 22 staff members of a community health nursing programme requested the assistance of the author. During a three-day meeting the traumatic experiences ofthe participants were discussed. Several steps, including performing a ritual (‘burying the dead’) and psycho-education on stress and trauma, were developed using the resources ofthe group. In view ofthe high numbers of traumatised communities, participants felt the need to pass on what they had learned. At a later stage, they began to view these issues in the context of community health work and prepared to change the mental health curriculum of their programme. Keywords: Mass trauma, ‘burying the dead’, community healing, community health, mental health, traumatised community.

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Reference: 
Elisabeth Fries | 2003
In: Intervention: the international journal of mental health, psychosocial work and counselling in areas of armed conflict, ISSN 1571-8883 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 40-46
http://www.interventionjournal.com/sites/default/files/1207%20Fries.pdf