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The Norwegian NGO, the Children and War Foundation are planning to run a workshop training in Giazentep, Turkey for Syrian staff providing care for local Syrian orphans. At the end of February 2016 Dr. Masa Al-kurdi, a Syrian-British doctor in psychology, will train twenty trainees on the Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) program, and thereafter implementation of the program will commence.
The TRT program is a validated program used in conflict and disaster hit areas including Iraq, Ukraine, Turkey and Nepal and has been used with Syrian children in Jordan and Lebanon. The program teaches children techniques to help them deal with common symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress like intrusive thoughts and feelings (nightmares, flashbacks), childrens’ arousal (relaxation, concentration, sleep) and avoidance / fears. It teaches children skills which help them cope with difficulties and prepare for possible future difficulties, and is designed to prevent as much as possible the need for later psychological treatment.
In the first 7 week cycle of implementation the program aims to help 200 Syrian orphans in Gaziantep who have been subjected to traumatic experiences related to the Syrian war. Children engaged in the program will be screened, using validated measures for mental health, before and after the program. Follow-up psychiatric treatment will be made available through networks of local specialists for children requiring more specialist care.