Trauma Aid Hellas; Who are we and what are goals are?

Η οργάνωση «"Trauma Aid Hellas" which coordinates humanitarian initiatives in Greece. The goals of “Trauma Aid Hellas” include, but they are not limited to:

1. educating people about the repercussions of psychological trauma,
2. teaching techniques and developing skills for professionals who live in communities with low income and underdeveloped mental health systems,
3. offering psychological support to the victims of man-made and natural disasters.

“Trauma Aid Hellas” is part of a bigger network, named “Trauma Aid Europe”. The organization of “Trauma Aid Europe” is based on the therapies of EMDR and Trauma Focused CBT. Both therapies are acknowledged to be reliable when treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by the American Psychological Association (APA) and more recently, at 2013, by the World Health Organization (WHO). At 2014, United Nations’ committee for non-profit organizations provided Special Consultant Recognition at Humanitarian Programs of EMDR Therapy. 

Since 2018,"Trauma Aid Hellas" began organizing educational programs for volunteers.

1. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens – Medical School, Children Psychology Clinic 
2. TACT HELLAS
3. Unitar- United Nations Institute for Training and Research
4. EMDR-Early Intervention
5. EMDR-Europe
6. Global Initiative for Stress and Trauma Treatment
7. The “University of Worcester” U.K.
8. Trauma Aid Europe

Also at 2018, TAH implemented the “Educators’ Couching” program and a two-day training seminar of 50 volunteers as well. They have constructed a team of 12 educators composing of mental health professionals (psychologies, psychiatrists, etc) which in their turn train 50 citizen volunteers, some from the mental health industry and others of different professions, which they can provide “Mental Health First Aid”, as specified by the international organizations that trained and supported TAH at their effort by gifting them with the right skill set.

In 2019 TAH continued with the second wave of volunteer training with 50 new volunteers interested in contributing the appropriate help to people in need during crisis times.

The “Emotional Protection Teams” are staffed with volunteers, available during a crisis in Greece and they would be able to responsibly intervene and support people in need after a traumatic event. 

We think that in moments of crisis, a holistic approach is the key to an effective and quality handling. In order to provide better support during crisis, we believe that a necessary requirement is the connection between the entities responsible for the synchronization of different intervention groups, such as the Civil Protection, Municipalities, the Emergency Aid Center, Fire Departments, etc.

Our team wants to continue training volunteers and be a part of the listed first aid teams (specializing in psychological support) to secure citizens' health and safety who might have been victims of a critical situation.

The"TACT HELLAS"organization supports the programs of “Trauma Aid Hellas”. Each year they organize Training Circles around Psychological Trauma for Mental Health professionals. Their Scientific Director in a Certified EMDR Trainer and Supervisor by EMDR Europe and she trains mental health professionals on EMDR Therapy’s Basic Training.