PAGADIAN CITY, Nov. 08 (PIA) -– Fourteen teams of social workers were dispatched to the municipalities of Alicia and Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay early this month to conduct Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing (CISD) sessions to armed conflict affected families.
The teams, composed of social workers from the regional office and its sub-offices in Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, are trained debriefers who shall conduct debriefing sessions to adults and children willing to undergo the said session.
Mrs. Socorro Macaso, Head of the CISD teams explained that CISD is not a psychotherapy, nor it is a substitute for psychotherapy instead it is to provide an opportunity for ventilation in a structured and supportive environment. “It’s main goal is to relieve the person of the stress brought about by a traumatic incident such as the recent conflict in Payao.”
Mrs. Macaso further revealed that four (4) teams will be deployed in Payao while the other teams will be assigned in Alicia municipality considering that most evacuees come from the said area.
Adults shall be subjected to the seven (7) phases of Jeffrey Mitchell’s CISD model while children who were also affected by the distressful ordeal shall have sessions on draw and tell, where they will be encouraged to draw their experiences and encountered scenes in the hope of mitigating the effects of their experiences.
The teams were also tasked to assess the damages brought about by the conflict as well as look into other needs of the affected families and communities. (JPA/DSWD-9/PIA9/CAL/ZamboSur)
