Social workers … key players in supporting children’s mental health
Providing psychosocial support to traumatized children and on activating child-friendly spaces
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Children in Yemen suffer the most from the brutal conflict that has been ongoing in the country since 2015. Today, there are over 11 million Yemenite children are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Realizing the crucial role social workers play, UNICEF supported the training of social workers in Marib, Yemen on providing psychosocial support to traumatized children and on activating child-friendly spaces.
“I joined this course to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to deal with children who suffer from psychological disorders,” says Khaled Al-Rahbi, a 38-year-old teacher and social worker and one of the trainees at the special psychosocial support course implemented by the Office of Social Affairs and Labor.
“Children often reveal to social workers things that they don`t share with their parents. That is why it is vital to train social workers on detecting symptoms of psychological disorder, creating and maintaining friendly spaces for children and encouraging them to join those friendly spaces,” says Soqatra Bagmaa, a Case Management Trainer at the Social Affairs Labor Office in Marib.
The course is divided into two main parts: first, social workers and case managers learn how to detect alarming cases and symptoms of psychological trauma and behavioural issues developing in children, and the actions they can take to provide psychological first aid to a child. Then, they learn about activities and initiatives that can reduce the psychological and social pressure on children and improve their conditions.
“Children suffer from gender-based violence, neglect, abuse, and exploitation. They develop phycological problems and behaviour issues, which remain untreated and worsen if teachers and social workers are not trained to detect and treat them,” adds Al-Rahbi. “I know I will benefit from this course greatly as we learn to use psychosocial methods for children who suffer from psychological and behavioural problems as well as evaluate their conditions and progress.”
“It is necessary to learn how to provide psychosocial support to children affected by the war”, says Huda Assaf, a case management specialist at SAL and one of the trainees. “I visit displacement camps regularly, and in those places are lots of particularly vulnerable children”, she adds. “Here we learn how to detect alarming cases, evaluate children’s condition and find the right approach and activities to help them”, concludes Huda.
“This course is important as it will help social workers and case managers arrange the exact activities that will suit children’s psychological conditions,” adds Ali Saleh Salem, a Protection Training Consultant and Training Programs Developer. “They will be able to provide relevant support even to a child with complex psychological disorders and work in coordination with their attending physician. We thank the Office of Social Affairs and Labour and UNICEF for this training. I hope that they will continue to intensify the training courses so that we can reach the rank of psychiatrists and continue helping children of our country”, concludes Ali.
Thanks to the generous funding from UNOCHA – CERF, the crucial training was made possible through UNICEF and its partners.
