GCMHP Holds an Evaluation Session on Selfcare and Concludes a Course Titled ‘Psychological First Aid for Adults’

The Training and Research Department at Gaza Community Mental Health Programme has recently conducted an active session on Selfcare in cooperation with the Social Services and Aid Programme- Social Work Department at UNRWA. 19 professionals including social specialists, and legal consultants who work with UNRWA participated in this session. Ms. Enas Jouda and Ms. Manal Alherbawi, specialists at GCMHP led the session in collaboration with Dr. Sleiman Mohammed, Head of the Social Intervention Unit at UNRWA’s Social Services and Aid Programme.
Dr. Mohammed spoke on behalf of the Programme Manager, Mr. Asem Abu Shawish when he thanked GCMHP for its continuous support to the social supervisors’ team by providing them with capacity building and constant training. This cooperation between GCMHP and UNRWA in the fields of Psychological First Aid, Selfcare, and Professional Supervision and other areas started in 2013 and he referred to the importance of its continuation.
The five hour session included warming up and ventilation exercises and an overview of the term of stress, mechanisms for dealing with psychological pressures, the definition of selfcare and other exercises and activities.
At the end of the session, the trainees emphasised the importance of this training on a personal and professional level as they use this knowledge with their families and they transfer it to their colleagues at work. They requested more courses in the field of Psychological First Aid, Mind and Body Skills, Psychodrama, Family Therapy, and Professional Supervision.
Second, the Training and Research Department has also concluded a course on Psychological First Aid for Adults, in which 25 professionals participated from professions such as Nursing, Anaesthesia technicians, administrative employees, and x-ray specialists who work at the European Hospital. Ms. Enas Jouda, specialist and Head of the Training Unit at GCMHP, and Ms. Wissam Qishta, Head of the Mental Health Unit at the European Hospital, attended the closing session which was led by Ms. Samah Mahmoud, a specialist at GCMHP. The training was conducted in the Rushdi Rustom Hall in the Oncology Department of the Hospital.
The six hour course aimed at providing the participants with information on the term of trauma and the principles of psychological first aid for adults, how to help responsibly while maintaining selfcare in mind.
Ms. Jouda welcomed the participants and thanked them for their active interaction during the course. She also emphasised the importance of maintaining the cooperation between the programme and the hospital.
The participants, in turn, stated that the training had added a lot to their knowledge and that it had been a unique experience. They thanked the trainers and those who oversee training activities at the programme saying more training is needed in various areas.

Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
Public Relations and Media Unit