Trauma & Reconciliation
RESILIENCE CENTRES
Child Resilience Initiative for Israeli and Palestinian Communities
Following the school-based interventions of CHERISH (Child Rehabilitation Initiative for Safety and Hope) in Acco and Bethlehem (see details below), One to One Children’s Fund is launching the new Child Resilience Initiative for Palestinian and Israeli communities on 1 January 2012. This programme aims to build an infrastructure providing sustainable psychological support for young people in their community.
The Programme uses an ecological model of psychosocial care where the ‘school’ with its teachers and counsellors serves as a focal point for interventions within a community. Field experience has shown traumatised children do not make use of clinical services because of the stigma associated with these services. Using a population-based approach rather than a one-on-one counselling model will ensure access to psychosocial services is as wide as possible. This approach builds local capacity, is sustainable and is highly cost effective.
The centre in West Jerusalem will be run by Professor Danny Brom, Founder and Director of The Israel Centre for the Treatment of Psycho Trauma, and the centre in Ramallah by Professor Mohammed Shaheen, former Dean of Public Health and current Director of the Centre for Development in Primary Health Care at Al-Quds University.
The CHERISH Project
Building Personal and Professional Resilience Project
Significant numbers of children witnessing violent events, or living with the fear that they may become victims, have not been able to make sense of their experiences and often have no one to talk to. A considerable proportion of young people develop significant distress symptoms following exposure to war-related conditions, symptoms which may impact on their long-term development.
One to One Children’s Fund and its partner, the Israel Centre for Psycho Trauma, are implementing a one-year training programme, the Building Personal and Professional Resilience project, to provide both psycho-education and hands-on skills, empowering 29 professional school counsellors to deal proactively with the threat of disaster and the exposure to long term stress and trauma. The training programme provides them with information and tools to use both personally and professionally.
This project is focused on the communities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, two major population centres which were under attack from rockets, exposing large population groups and hundreds of thousands of children to a high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These counsellors will be able to reach over 14,000 school children affected by trauma.
The CHERISH Schools Intervention Project (2007-2009)
Significant numbers of children witnessing violent events, or living with the fear that they may become a victim, have not been able to make sense of their experiences and often have no one to talk to. A considerable proportion of young people develop significant distress symptoms following exposure to war-related conditions, symptoms which may have adverse impact on their long-term development.
The schools-based intervention of CHERISH, supported by One to One Children’s Fund, addressed the mental health of children on both sides. This was a unique collaborative effort of Israeli and Palestinian psychologists, psycho-social workers and public health experts.
The work addresses the needs of both teachers and pupils, first training teachers to recognise difficult emotions and changes in children’s behaviour and to try out cognitive behavioural exercises themselves. After children are screened, whole-class activity is provided to lessen stress and build up resilience. Those children with severe symptoms are given specific treatment.
The joint Israeli/Palestinian initiative reached a total of 1,500 children in 3 primary schools, two based in Acco, Israel (one Jewish school and one Arab school) and one in Bethlehem, Palestinian Territory.
The project completed what it set out to do, despite challenges along the way. Two communities received integrative trauma and resilience building programmes in the wake of exposure to trauma. Many children’s lives were improved, many professionals received new levels of understanding and practical knowledge that they have since been able to apply in their classrooms, and with their clients. A significant impact has been made in these communities, and the programme has gone on to have a much wider impact in the larger communities as well.
Because the programme was so successful, the Municipality of Acco was very interested in rolling out this programme in the entire city. ICTP continued to do this during 2007-2009 school years.
As a result of the showcase project, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) a US government agency became interested in evaluating this school based intervention, a first of its kind in the world. This evaluation would not have taken place, without the initial support of One to One in the showcase CHERISH project.
“There is clear evidence that if you work with teachers you change their level of skill and confidence to work with children and
change the atmosphere in the school.”
Danny Brom, Director of the Jerusalem Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma
“We don’t have enough psychiatrists or child psychologists, Teachers are overburdened, children are problematic and rebellious. Teachers need more help to appreciate what the children are going through and to support them.”
Mohammed Shaheen, Dean of Public Health at al-Quds University