The second training on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies will take place at Vietnam National University in Hanoi on 19–27 May 2014 with a focus on children’s trauma therapy. The training will be participated by government officials as well as representatives of academic institutions, hospitals, INGOs, NGOs, and civil societies from nine provinces in Vietnam.
Officials from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs will grace the opening event together with H.E. Madam Ragnhild Dybdahl, Vice Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam. Interested media professionals are invited to attend the opening ceremony on Monday 19 May at 8.30−9.15 am at Vietnam National University.
The training is part of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Training Program conducted by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center together with its technical partner agency, the Center for Crisis Psychology of Norway, and in collaboration with Hanoi School of Public Health and Vietnam National University’s Center for Research, Information and Services. The program is considered a milestone for mental health and psychosocial support in Vietnam as there is limited support for victims in this area in times of emergency, especially in children’s psychosocial health.
Building on the first course in Vietnam that was conducted in 2013 with a focus on children and teaching recovery techniques, this year’s training searches for participants who are or will be involved in disaster response and especially dealing with young victims. Participants include social workers, psychologists, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.
“Many countries in Asia have demonstrated that they have greatly improved their resilience to natural hazards in the recent years. I think that applying interventions used in other countries is important. At the same time, the interventions should be applied in a way that is culturally acceptable”, said Madam Ragnhild Dybdahl, PhD, Deputy Head of Mission from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam.
The program is another step to assist with overcoming stereotypes related to mental health conditions in times of emergencies and to produce master trainers to pioneer further training programs focusing on psychological health.
The program is supported by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Details of the opening ceremony
Time:
Monday 19 May at 8.30−9.15 am
Venue:
Vietnam National University
Room 502, C0 Building
182 Luong The Vinh street
Thanh Xuan district
Ha Noi
NOTE TO EDITOR:
The goal of Asian Disaster Preparedness Center’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies Training Program is to strengthen community safety and resilience through capacity development of health personnel. The aim is to improve the health personnel’s capacity to manage psychosocial impacts of all types of emergencies or disasters immediately post-disaster in order to increase the survival rate of the victims.
The program has three-fold objectives:
1. To enhance communities’ capacity in mental health and psychosocial support to be able to manage victims immediately after the disaster
2. To strengthen the knowledge, attitude, and skills of health workers in managing children disaster victims
3. To enhance the capacity of health professionals to manage identified mentally pathologic cases during disaster.
The training program was first implemented in 2011−2012 in Bangladesh in cooperation with BRAC University, and then launched in Vietnam in July 2013. The program has been localized to meet Vietnam’s needs and priorities in the improvement of psychosocial support in emergencies. The training educates master trainers who will be able to conduct national roll-out trainings and refresher courses in the future.
For more information:
Dr. Dang Hoang Minh
Director of the Center for Research, Information and Service in Psychology
Vietnam National University
Email: minhdh@vnu.edu.vn, crisp.ued@gmail.com
Tel: +844 3553 9608-20
To see the official CRISP-VNU press release (Vietnamese) click here.