Institute Of Psycho-Trauma Pakistan (IPTP)

REPORTS

Quarterly Report of IPTP Activities.
January to April, 2006

Report of IPTP Visits
Sehar Hasan, Clinical Psychologist

Report of Visit to Earthquake Hit Areas

3rd International Congress of Association of International Womens Mental Health

ARTICLES

USE of Media-Radio and Cable TV in Earthquake Areas of NWFP.
Haider Husain: Post-graduate in Psychiatry

Experience with children. Z. Meher Hasan, Senior Clinical Psychologist

Impressions of 4th Visit to Earthquake Hit Areas

Report of IPTP Visits
Sehar Hasan, Clinical Psychologist

2nd visited to earthquake hit areas:

The IPTP team made its second visited to earthquake hit areas last week of December, 2005. The team conducted three parallel programs for management of psycho- trauma in earthquake victims.

Our activities were based on two objectives one to provide immediate support to the victims. Secondly to train people for the management of psycho-trauma in the long run. For this purpose the team members provided individual and Group counseling services to earthquake victims and also conducted an intensive training workshop in which local health professionals were trained to continue the work in our absence.

Group of Jinnah Coommerce College Meansehra Teachers with IPTP Team Members.

A. Training Workshop:

Dr. Gisela Perren-Klingler with Dr. Unaiza Niaz conducted a theoretical- practical workshop for the local health workers with aim to empower them and to make a difference in attending affected-suffering-diseased persons after disastrous events. The workshop was conducted at Women Medical college, Abbottabad. The principle and other staff of college was very cooperative and wonderful in organizing the whole program.

A group of 30 people were trained through this intensive 3-day workshop. The response of the participants was very positive and everybody came with the feedback that they have gained a lot from this workshop and infect stressed that IPTP team should continue such workshops in is next few trips so that more people can be trained which will be a great service to people of these areas.

B. Counseling and Treatment Services:

Dr. Unaiza Niaz, a consultant psychiatrist saw many cases individually and provided treatment services to victims. Dr. Haider Hussain, a trainee in psychiatry and Sehar Hussain, psychologist assisted her in seeing patients. Ms. Shahnaz Ahad, a social worker, addressed the social problems of people which rose further after earthquake and provided them with practical guidelines to deal with these problems successfully. The patients seen in first visit were also provided follow-up treatment.

C. Art and Craft Workshop for Children:

The occupational therapist Ms. Tayyaba Akhter conducted art and craft workshops for children in four tent schools of earthquake hit areas. These workshops were conducted in following schools;

The Rising Star School Abbottabad
The Jinnah School, Mansehra
Shaheen School, Balakot
The Hawalian Tent School, Hawalian.

The art and craft projects were designed according to age groups of children. For children in age range of 4-6 yrs the simpler tasks of coloring and pasting were carried out. Children in age range of 7-12 yrs made greeting cards and wall hangings with cards papers.

Children enjoying in a Playgroup at Camp School (Balakot).

Adolescents completed the projects of making paintings with glass colors. Children anjoyed these projects very much. Teachers were trained to carry out such projects with children in future as well. The material for these projects was given to schools so that teachers can continue these activities with children.

3rd Visited to Earthquake Hit Areas:

The IPTP team made its third visited to earthquake hit areas in second week of march, 2006. The team had three main programs on its agenda this time.

Training teachers, to identify and address psychological impacts of earthquake in children.
Play groups with children
A longitudinal Survey of psychiatric problems after earthquake.

A. Teachers' Training Program

Dr. Unaiza Niaz with assisteance of Ms. Mehar Hassan, a senior clinical psychologist conducted three training workshops in tent schools of earthquake hit areas. The workshops were conducted in following schools;

The Jinnah School, Mansehehra
The Jinnah School, Balakot
The Shaheen School, Balakot.

A total of thirty five teachers were trained and taught different techniques which should be used to address the psychological problems like depression, fear, anxiety, behavioral problems which arose after traumatic experience like earthquake.

Teachers were given guidelines to create therapeutic environment for children in class room which is characterized by their efforts to create supportive atmosphere, understand and emotionally support children, answer their questions honestly, provide information regarding normal reactions to stressful experiences, attend to their personal problems and help them to cope with difficult situations. The feedback of teachers was very encouraging and they accepted that it was truly the current need of children.

B. Play Group with Children:

The IPTP team preferred to adopt “Group Play Therapy” Approach for its therapeutic activities with children as the enormity and extent of disaster is so much it is not possible to work with individual cases and under these circumstances working in groups is the most effective strategy, which can be taken on. The underlying premise of conducting these groups with children was as follow;

Resilience: Concentrated on their inner resilience and faith.
Reactivation: identification of their strengths which were shaken because of earthquake and then work on them.
Normality: Getting them back to normality by physical activity and involvement in daily chores, self-sufficiency and responsibilities for self and group.
Group cohesiveness e.g. distributing food themselves, working on faith and resilience and utilizing their strengths in recovery from helplessness into self-reliance, recollecting their personality strength and focus on these strengths in group to activate and mobilize independent existence.
Optimism: Hope for the future.
Exercises:
- Breathing Exercise: To alleviate immediate anxiety.
- Imagery: To imagine beautiful pre-earthquake Balakot areas, scenes of tranquility, peace, happiness.
- Physical Exercise: Butterfly and Train/Rain Exercise for Dissociation / Freedom and Release of Stress

Play Group for Children (FUN AND HAPPINESS GROUP)

The IPTP team conducted and guided teachers to carry out certain activities with children at least every week for an hour, as regular follow up of these activates will lead towards creating a nurturing environment which ultimately helps children in overcoming their disturbed thoughts and behaviors.

Sing Song Session: Involving Children in singing songs like rhymes, and patriotic songs which will facilitate group cohesion, anxiety relieve, fun and activity for them.
Physical Activity: Butterfly and Train / Rain Exercise.
Story Reading: Reading interesting stories of courage and other stories of people who not only overcome but even move towards further progress after traumatic events.

C. Longitudinal Survey:

A longitudinal survey is designed to obtain information about prevalence of psychiatric problems after earthquake. For this purpose data was obtained in first step from local population of Balakot and Mansehra residents and school children.