Since 2009 TraumaAid is also active in Rwanda and Burundi with numerous trauma trainings, supported by Bread for the World and GIZ.
In 2018, two seminars took place. The general trend is away from special trauma therapy towards trauma training and trauma psychoeducation in order to reach professionals at schools, etc. This would also provide a broader clientele.
The Mekong III Project started in November 2017 and will be completed in April 2020.
In 2018 two seminars for trauma counsellors from Myanmar in trauma-focused psychological support "TPSS+" and therapists from Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam were trained in EMDR. Supervisors and trainers training were integrated. TPSS+ meets the need for simple resource installation and the level of training of mental health professionals. (Further explanations on page Capacity Building Concept)
The main objective of the project is to introduce Traumatology and EMDR to the training of psychiatrists in Cambodia and to develop the Psychotherapeutic Centre in Phnom Penh into a self-supporting autonomous centre.
In 2019, two more EMDR seminars are planned to be held in Cambodia, for trauma therapists only. Separate seminars and training in TPSS+ will take place parallel in Myanmar, along with the necessary supervision.
The funding is provided by BMZ and terre des hommes Deutschland e.V.
Trauma Aid Deutschland carries out the training and guarantees a proper procedure as well as an accompanying documentation of the clients' therapy.
Capacity Building-EMDR Therapists Himpsi Jaya in Collaboration with terre des hommes und TraumaAID Germany
In the completed Mekong I project for Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia, 39 EMDR therapists and 15 supervisors were trained, who were able to treat a total of 5055 patients.
The Mekong II Projects for Cambodia and Myanmar is the third project in the series of "Trauma Capacity Building Projects" for the South East Asia region. EMDR Indonesia, EMDR Thailand and EMDR Cambodia were established with Myanmar.
These professional associations belong to the umbrella organization EMDR ASIA, which held the third congress in Shanghai in April "Treating Trauma through EMDR for Peace".
The Mekong II project started in November 2014 and ended in June 2017. A continuation is planned.
Trained in 8 training seminars were 32 Burmese and 26 Cambodians with the support of the 21 Asian trainers and facilitators.
In March 2017, 18 facilitators received their certificates as consultants through EMDR EUROPE.
5 other therapists from the region take part in the trainer’s training in Worcester/UK.
In 2017 and 2018 a second group of 38 therapists from all 6 trauma centres operated by the Jiyan Foundation in Kurdistan was trained. The financing was made possible by terre des hommes Deutschland e.V..
In addition, three seminars were held in trauma-focused psychosocial support "TPSS+" for social workers and psychologists, who mainly work in four refugee camps near Erbil. These activities were financed by terre des hommes and ADIDAS and implemented by TraumaAid.
A new training project started in October 2017 in cooperation with the local partner EMDR Lebanon. The project is planned for 2 years. Two EMDR 2017 and 2018 training courses took place. The third EMDR Seminar will take place in November. The project is financed by terre des hommes and the Ministry of Lower Saxony.
EMDR Training in Kenya
Qualified training in Kenya began in 2006. 90 psychologists have been trained in EMDR and 4 supervisors in cooperation with the EMDR Kenya Trust. The training was continued in 2018 with two seminars with participants from Uganda and Ethiopia.
A TraumaAid staff member developed a protocol in a pilot phase in 2015 - 2016 and tested it with street children. Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya, is located on Lake Victoria. There is a slum area on the outskirts of the city with street children. They had found accommodation at the Pandipieri Catholic Centre, a project of the Dutch mission.
Each child should be able to work on his or her own issues. The participants were to complete the processing together. The protocol had to be time-efficient, group-compatible and should include all stages of trauma processing, based on the eight phases of the EMDR standard protocol.
A drawing protocol was developed that reduced the difficulties of verbal interaction to a minimum and was able to compensate for all the restrictions mentioned. Moreover, the street children found drawing easier than speaking. Two more elements were needed to integrate the trauma: drumming on the knees as bilateral stimulation, and the core elements. Drumming as bilateral stimulation was a method adapted to the culture, which had already been successfully used by Rwandan women to overcome the genocide.
Schneider, M.: Trauma Protocol for Street Children – A short Cut through their Trauma network, presented at EMDR Europe Conference – Den Haag 17. – 19.06.2016 (for Children’s‘ Attachment Trauma)
Due to Corona, it was not possible to carry out the training until 2021. The Schmitz Foundation has approved the submitted project for the training in Ukraine! We will start with the first TPSS+ seminar in Kiev in September. All together three seminars are being planned up to 2021. You can find out more about TPSS+ on the publications page.
Please also support this project with a small donation, as TraumaAid has to make its own contribution to this project.
Due to Corona, it will not be possible to carry out the further training until 2021. You can find out more about TPSS+ under the publications section. Please support this project with a small donation.