Staff from the health, education and human services ministries and the Guyana Association of Professional Social Workers are undergoing training in areas such as self care to boost their capacity as therapeutic counsellors.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) press release, the workshop, sponsored by UNICEF and hosted by the education ministry, is a continuation of an online trauma counselling training, which concluded recently.
The participants were supervisors and their junior staff who will now form the country’s ‘mentoring group’. They are equipped to respond to any psychosocial emergencies, particularly at schools. GINA said the training was prompted by the murders of 23 persons at Lusignan and Bartica.
One technique being taught at the workshop is relaxation. Mental Health Technical Adviser at the health ministry Dr Sonia Chehil said it will help counsellors to step out of a difficult situation and it provides a way for them to ground themselves before and after sessions. “As a helper you must be able to step back and protect yourself and to step back and have perspective,” she said. Other techniques to be discussed are leadership, conflict resolution and effective communication. At the end of the training participants are expected to return to their respective organizations and teach junior staff members.
Logistics Support Co-ordinator at the education minister Mark Ross said the workshop serves as a guiding process for a manual being developed to direct trainers in case of future emergencies.
Further, GINA said, there were two other workshops ongoing with teachers at the Ocean View Convention Centre and in Bartica.
