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
Visit to Earthquake
Hit Areas
The IPTP team, lead by, the Director IPTP, Dr. Unaiza Niaz, (Consultant Psychiatrist) a Social worker/Counselor Ms. Shahnaz Ahad and a Psychologist, Ms. Sehar Hassan, along with. PMA President Karachi, Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, visited various earthquake-hit areas from 2nd to 7th Nov 2005. The purpose was to assess and address the rising rates of psychiatric and psychological problems among earthquake victims.The IPTP team visited various Earthquake hit areas including Muzzaffarabad, Gari Doppata, Hatian Bala, Balakot, Chinkiyari, Banadan Peeran, Dhodyal, Dadar, Sumb, Bhogar Mang, Andrasi and jabori.The most common psychological reaction among victims were flashbacks, anxiety, sleep-lessness, panic attacks and fear of earthquake, besides numbing, dissociation and apathy.
The team conducted Counseling sessions & Psychological First Aid, to he group for children, women and men in various camps. In group-sessions the IPTP team, delivered tips on handling psychological impacts of trauma, how to deal with children, told them facts about earthquake besides increasing stories of courage and wisdom were read for children from storybooks, which were later distributed among children.Children were also given color pencils, papers, chocolates, biscuits, juices and storybook. Interestingly, the children's group in different camps and tent school were very therapeutic for kids and rewarding for IPTP team. Individual & group Psycho-trauma Therapy was given to the victims of earthquake, admitted to makeshift wards of PMA hospital at Mansehra.
Dr. Unaiza Niaz saw many cases of Acute Traumatic Stress Disorder with aggravation of their previous psychiatric illnesses separately and gave medicines to the patients. On Eid day, the team visited Balakot where 95% buildings including houses, schools, colleges, hospital, police station, were totally collapsed. The team visited various tent schools here and conducted play groups for children and distributed Eid gifts.
More than 1000 people in various camps were seen by the IPTP Team and the response of children and adults was very positive. In fact, they insisted the team visit them again. The IPTP team has decided to follow-up these cases & groups for three to five years.
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Children's
Playgroup in Edhi Camp Hospital in Muzzafferabad |
The IPTP team made following recommendations for rehabilitation of women and children.
- Destitute women and children be looked after initially by relatives where expenses can be paid by people who want to support them in the same environment.
- Group homes could be planned like SOS villages by government and other agencies in the same environment.
- Adoption should be the last option to consider.
- Recommend micro finance or self-finance for small businesses to handicapped or disabled women and people in their own localities.
- Community must discourage beggary.
The IPTP team will do a 2nd follow-up visit in last week of December. Besides conducting counseling groups it will also conduct art and crafts workshops for women and children. Any specific issues of victims, keeping in view the prevalent situations, will also be addressed