This project represents a lager scope of TPO's work in the communities by delivering mental health interventions to disadvantaged, vulnerable people in rural Cambodia. It aims to improve quality of life of Cambodian people by improving their mental well-being, using a mix of education, information, training and therapy. The project is funded by the European Commission (EC), Interchurch Organi- zation for Development Cooperation (ICCO) and Danish Church Aid (DCA). Project objectives:- To improve the mental health and quality of life of disadvantaged people through using a range of interventions such as education, and training, thereby helping to increase social cohesion and reduce poverty.
- To improve people’s skills and knowledge in mental health care by capacity building both internally at TPO and to external organizations.
The project activities include assessment, identifying key community workers, training, capacity building, awareness raising, providing a range of interventions, treatment, monitoring and evaluation. The work is carried out by our field/community workers in collaboration with primary health care workers and community NGO partners in the target areas.
Targets: This project work primarily with the following groups of people: female headed households, war widows, disabled people, children at risk, victims of domestic violence, men with alcohol problems and people living with HIV. Social Context Assessment  The first step involves an assessment of the needs within each community and begins to identify the most vulnerable groups amongst the villagers and other stakeholders. This assessment is conducted prior to any activities being undertaken in the target areas.The Participato ry Rural Appraisal (PRA) enables TPO staff to understand more about the village, introduces TPO themselves into the villages and builds relationships with the local authorities, especially each commune council. TPO core group members assess the village history, resources available, traumatic events the village have experienced, the nature of problems the village faces, and coping strategies the villagers have used. This assessment is a fundamental step for the TPO core group to formulate intervention strategies to help the villagers and to thereby identify the most vulnerable people living in each village. Training Community Resources  The aim of this activity is to increase the knowledge and ability of potential key resource people (village leaders, elderly, monks, traditional healers, village health volunteers, village development committee…), in each village and community. Through developing their understanding of psychosocial and mental health problems this enables them to identify, manage and prevent basic psychosocial and mental health problems, or be able to refer or know where to refer people to.
These people are essential as their collaboration with TPO ensures the activities target the most vulnerable groups in each community. They are close to the individuals in each village and are able to work with the TPO team in identifying those most in need. This approach has proved to be effective and sustainable in terms of building the capacity of the local resources and empowering the community to help its own people.
Psycho-Social Education  This activity involves raising awareness of problems relating to mental health amongst the general population. Public awareness about mental health is one of the key elements in the prevention of mental health problems and promotion of mental wellbeing. Psychosocial education (defined as raising awareness about mental health and psychosocial problems) is a technique widely used by TPO Cambodia. Psychosocial education helps provide families and individuals at the community level with an understanding of psychosocial problems, stress and trauma and enables them to see the root cause of their present suffering. People learn how personal problems impact on the community and vice versa. TPO psychosocial education is conducted in the field, villages, pagodas, schools, and other public places.
TPO Cambodia has also raised awareness on mental health and psychosocial issue through its radio programme, FM 96 MHz and FM 99.5 MHz. An extensive package of education material (e.g .posters and leaflets) is distributed for this purpose. Self-help Group  TPO builds the confidence of the identified vulnerable groups through the facilitation of self-help groups. These groups may include people living with domestic violence, alcoholic problems, HIV/AIDS, handicaps due to land mines and disability; widows and children and trafficked women and children. Self-help groups (SHGs) formed and facilitated by TPO's Core Groups and their trainees (community resource people) are particularly relevant and cost-effective methods of helping individuals to find ways of solving problems and coping with stress. The number of participants in each group is ideally 10, and the number of sessions vary from 9 to 12.
In self-help groups, participants are introduced to a structured way in which they can express feelings, share emotions and support each other and in turn they gain experiences from other group members. Self-help groups have been accepted by TPO beneficiaries in the community especially among socially isolated individuals who can benefit from sharing experiences with each other. Self-help groups have been and will continue to be the most successful part of TPO Cambodia’s activity in the community. Self Help Groups empower vulnerable people, especially those whose human rights have been abused and/or are living with violence, to be aware and understand more about themselves, provide the opportunity for them to learn from each other and thus empower them more about their rights. Counseling Our trained and experienced counselors provide psychological interventions through counseling sessions with individuals who suffer from psychosocial and mental health problems. This service is available for Cambodians at our TPO offices in the provinces where we work, and for both Cambodians and expatriates at the TPO Central Office in Phnom Penh (please refer to our addresses below). |
| | In a society where so many Cambodians continue to struggle with the aftermath of their country's violent past, facing the past and seeking truth and justice are crucial to recover from mass atrocity. Experiences in other countries show that active participation in a court or any other justice initiative can have a highly empowering impact on survivors of mass atrocity. However, it remains risky, as the logic of jurisdiction may not always meet the needs of victims and painful memories may resurface during the course of the tribunal.
TPO believes that trauma recovery and reconciliation are long-term processes that should be addressed in a holistic manner through a series of carefully designed interventions. In particular, justice mechanisms should be carried out in tandem with psychological support services and social reconstruction efforts.
When the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) were established in 2005, the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) initiated its program to provide psychological support to those who had been traumatized by the Khmer Rouge regime. TPO further seeks to support professionals who are working within the context of ECCC. Working in close cooperation with the Witness and Expert Support Unit (WESU) and the Victims Support Services (VSS) of the ECCC, TPO provides a variety of psychological services through its Cambodian mental health experts. Those range from on-site psychological support during the ECCC proceedings to intense psychological and psychiatric follow-up care and awareness raising activities on mental health:
On-site Psychological Support for Witnesses and Civil Parties of the ECCC: TPO staff provides psychological support to Khmer Rouge survivors who are participating as witnesses or civil parties in the court’s proceedings. On-site psychological support services include reducing anticipatory anxiety through psychological briefing prior to the proceedings, monitoring participants' mental health condition, offering emotional support during the trial and debriefing after the proceedings.
Phone Counseling: The project established a phone counseling hotline, where Khmer Rouge survivors and their families can call (8am – 4pm on working days) and ask for information and support (see the following name card). The hotline is also used to reach people in the provinces that otherwise cannot receive psychological services and to support civil parties, the most vulnerable participants of the tribunal. As the latter are participating more closely in the tribunal, the management of feelings and expectations regarding the judicial proceedings becomes an important task in order to prevent possible re-traumatization or re- victimization. Psychological Services at TPOs Outpatient Clinic: Services at TPOs outpatient clinic in Phnom Penh include supportive psychotherapy by trained psychiatrists and psychologists and follow-up counseling services after the court's proceedings as well as the psychiatric assessment and medical treatment, if required.
Psychological Support during Outreach Activities:
TPO staff accompanies the various outreach activities of different partner organizations in the context of the tribunal in order to raise awareness about trauma and to give emotional support to the participants. Furthermore, survivors and young Cambodians are accompanied when visiting Phnom Penh’s memorial sites (Toul Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields).
Radio Program:
A bi-weekly radio call-in-show aims to inform people about trauma and psychological symptoms, which might resurface when remembering past events. Listeners learn about possible coping strategies and can share experiences or express concerns and questions related to mental health. The radio show “Past in the Present” is conducted on Friday from 3-4 pm on FM 102 MHz.
Training:
TPO provides trainings and workshops to staff of the ECCC and nongovernmental organizations where participants can learn about trauma, its after-effects and possible coping and self-care strategies.
TPO hopes that its Justice and Healing Project will provide psychological support to all victims of the Khmer Rouge either directly or by increasing awareness and sensitivity to mental health issues throughout the country. "Testimonial Therapy" (TT) a cultural adapted trauma treatment approach
TPO has developed and implemented an innovative trauma treatment approach derived from "Testimonial Therapy" that takes into account the cultural and human rights dimensions of mental health in Cambodia. Khmer Rouge survivors are invited to talk about their traumatic experiences. In cooperation with a counselor they can restore their painful memories and convert them into a written document: a testimony. The testimony is read aloud and delivered to the survivors during a Buddhist ceremony in presence of other survivors and/or community members. This practice allows victims to express and process traumatic experiences, to honor the spirits of the dead and document human rights violations.  Delivery of the testimony of a Khmer Rouge survivor  Delivery of the testimony of a Khmer Rouge survivor  Delivery of the testimony of a Khmer Rouge survivor Buddhist ceremony at Choeung Ek (Killing Field)
Buddhist ceremony at Choeung Ek (Killing Field)
Photos: Rothany Srun, Access to Justice Asia Intern
Click the link below to watch the Testimonial Therapy Video | | | |
|
|
Trauma Healing Initiatives (THI) project is currently supported by the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT, USA), funded by USAID, which aims to build clinical and public education capacity, among a network of community torture/trauma treatment resources in Cambodia, to enable a broader impact on torture survivors. Project Objectives: - Training of trainers: Assisting a core group of trauma clinicians in strengthening a larger network of resources for torture survivors in Cambodia.
- Community outreach & education strategies: Improving network members’ capacity to increase awareness of trauma effects, healthy coping, stigma reduction, available treatments, and human rights among targeted communities.
- Training the Network: Enhancing clinical skills and knowledge among a Network of community torture / treatment resources
- Network model development: Using a participatory approach to develop multi-disciplinary and multi-sector collaborative models of care among providers, best practices for trauma treatment in Cambodia, and practical program evaluation measures.
Targets: Staff from respective partner agencies such as Nyemo, Royal University of Phnom Penh (Department of Psychology), National Program for Mental Health, LICADHO, World Vision Cambodia, Child Center of Cambodia, RISP, Afesip, Enfants et Developpement and Handicap International Belgium as clinician core group members; survivors of Khmer Rouge, victims of DV, human trafficking, rape, sexual exploitation, political violence and prisoners. Case Discussion through Video Conference Launching THI Manual on Tool for Trauma Recovery in Cambodia  THI International Training Providing training to Psychiatrist Providing Certificate to THI core group members |
|
This project is jointly implemented by TPO Cambodia and Louvain Development (LD) and was funded by DGCD (Belgium government). The project has developed joint working relationships between the mental health services at referral hospitals and the community mental health programme taking place at grassroots level, ensuring effective referrals. Project Objectives: - Improving the quality of mental health care and increasing access of mentally-ill people to the clinic.
- Supporting two mental health units in Kampong Thom province
- Facilitating proper treatment and also enabling poor patients from TPO target areas to access psychiatric treatment offered at the mental health units.
- Building the capacity of clinical staff to provide good quality treatment to patients.
- Ensuring that OPD staff take responsibility by seeing patients and attending administrative meetings, home visits, and also meeting with TPO staff to discuss case management and to share relevant experiences.
Targets: People with mental health problems in Kampong Thom province and from nearby geographical provinces. The project has supported the Out Patient Clinic at Kampong Thom Provincial Hospital and the Mental Health Clinic in Baray Santuk Referral Hospital. |
|
Funded by UNICEF, TPO Cambodia has provided training on psychosocial training course to support district social workers of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSAVY) throughout the country. This is a 5-year project (2006-2010) to reach a total of 516 District Social Worker staff from all the provinces of Cambodia.
Project Objectives: - To increase the capacity of the District Social Workers (DSW) of MoSAVY (Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation) in response to the psychosocial needs of their client, especially children.
|
In collaboration with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs funded by GTZ, the TPO Team in Kampong Thom province has implemented the project "The Promotion of Women's Rights" to combat violence against women. The overall goal is to implement the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of the Victim.
Project Objectives:
- Encourage perpetrators of domestic violence to attend group counselling to change their behaviour and attitudes, thereby decreasing the levels of domestic violence in the community.
- Develop, prepare and organise individual and group counselling sessions for both men as perpetrators and women as victims.
- Build the confidence of both men and women and integrate their changed attitudes and behavior into their daily life.
- Improve the livelihood of group members by linking them to community development work.
This project targets perpetrator and victims of domestic violence. |
|
The International Capacity Building (ICB) is funded by USAID through Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The project aims to build the clinical capacity of TPO Cambodia to be able to provide psychological treatment to trauma / torture survivors in Cambodia.
Project Objectives: - To improve the quality and efficiency of the existing Counseling Center in order to meet professional standard
- To strengthen organizational management capacity of TPO Counseling Center
- To increase the effectiveness and impact of advocacy and public education activities during the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
- To upgrade technologies and their use in program development and management
Targets:
- The clinic provides interventions to clients referred by network NGOs, by family member or by the clients themselves who are in need of psychological counseling and/or psychiatric treatment.
|
|
|
