Economic Growth Cambodia Project #4959

Arts Therapy Clinic-Children in Crisis-CAMBODIA

by The Ragamuffin Project

Project Report | Nov 5, 2018
You Matter Too - Supporting Caregivers

By Carrie Herbert | Director of Arts Therapy Services Cambodia

“Our human resource is the most valuable resource for the organisation, we absolutely must care for it with this degree of respect”.

Ragamuffin's Arts Therapy services not only support children but also those who support them.

Supervision, staff care and well-being programmes are at the heart of sustaining health in the hearts and lives of those who care for others. Without adequate support it is common and normal for caregivers to feel impacted by stress, fatigue and sometimes even burnout.

This year Ragamuffin have been in partnership with Save the Children delivering and conducting a research into supervision programme with social workers and counsellors, team leaders and directors across 5 organisations. People who are working with sick children in hospital, children who have been abused, those in prison, those most at risk of not being protected in communities, and children who are in residential or foster care.

Through the application of therapeutic clinical supervision we discovered how vital this service is and the importance of professional support for all levels of staff. There was an increase in the wellbeing of staff and increased motivation and capacity in providing care for others as a result of the programme of supervision. As each participant became a researcher, the study resulted in in-depth reflections and insights that also strengthened and supported the care of vulnerable and traumatised children and families.

Supervision is part of maintaining the healthy heart of me and the healthy heart of the hospital’s greatest resource – its staff”.

There was a unanimous consensus for this support to be embedded into policy and practice for all organisations. Already supervision is included in a new framework of minimum standards in social work practice that is being developed in Cambodia. Integrating this into National Policy and ensuring sustainability of a workforce is vital to the country's longer-term development. One of the participants reflected on its importance:

It is clear how important supervision is in improving the quality of services and support we provide to children and families – when the workforce are healthy confident and feel supported this will have a ripple effect to the clients and families we support. From our experience this also increases the level of staff satisfaction in their job. In NGO’s and professions such as Social Work - people value their work sometimes even more than the salary they get, if they feel valued by the organization and adequately supported, they then value the work. It’s a powerful ripple effect. In supervision staff can deeply reflect and gain insight about what they do, they improve their skills and intervention because of good supervision, they then give that quality of service to clients and it improves the quality of care for the whole”.

Thank you for supporting Ragamuffin and caring about what happens in the support of children and families in Cambodia

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Aug 7, 2018
Love Matters - Emergency Psychological Care

By Carrie Herbert | Director of Arts Therapy Services Cambodia

At times of crisis, unexpected loss, or in emergencies, how we respond to those affected makes all the difference in their process of recovery and sometimes even their survival.

A compassionate responsive approach to shock, grief, trauma and its symptoms can support an individual and a community to begin to stabilise and be better equipped to navigate unexpected events. Responsive care helps us to spot those who are struggling and step in with more in-depth psychological support. Catching those who would otherwise fall through the net and potentially go on to suffer complex emotional and mental health problems.

Supporting children and families through a major road traffic accident enabled a team of therapists to provide such comprehensive care.

Children are often overlooked at times of crisis. There can be many assumptions made about the way in which events may or may not impact them, or the situation is so chaotic that they are not noticed.

During the emergency the Cambodian Therapist spotted one child hiding in a corner whilst his father was seriously injured in hospital. She gently approached him and sat down with him, hiding together she began to explore what he was feeling. He was terrified he was going to die. She talked through his fears and enabled him to feel safe to express deeper feelings and emotions began to flow. After some time and many tears he ran out and began to play.

Children are incredibly resilient and they need time and space to be heard, to feel safe, to express their concerns and feelings.

Compassionate responsive care, notices the invisible, the ones who are quiet and silent, unable to voice what they are experiencing as much as those who are equipped to express and process.

Ragamuffin provides responsive and long-term services to support children and families in Cambodia and your support makes all the difference.

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May 7, 2018
Supervision Sustaining Frontline Caregivers

By Carrie Herbert | Director of Arts Therapy Services

For those who care for vulnerable or traumatised children, families and communities, it is heart work and hard work. The lives and challenges of those we work with impacts us as we bring our humanity and use ourselves as instruments of care. Sustaining those on the frontline of care is a vital component of Ragamuffin's services in Cambodia.

We are currently introducing professional clinical supervision into five partner organisations as an implementation research programme. The organisations are working in the areas of trafficking, juvenile justice, abuse and sexual abuse in boys and girls, domestic violence, addictions, and trauma. We are exploring the impact of supervision on emotional wellbeing and professional practice for 17 social workers, team leaders and Directors.

Initial findings are demonstrating how opportunity to reflect, de-brief and receive emotional support in understanding the complex nature of the work is essential in reducing stress and preventing burnout.

“I now know I need to keep myself well, when I care for myself I can care for others and be able to keep caring – it stops me from burning out.” (Social Worker)

100% of participants in the programme report how regular supervision is a vital foundation for social work practice and not an optional extra.

“We cannot do without supervision, it is critical for us as Social Workers, to stay well, as we work with very complex and challenging situations everyday” (Social Worker)

The aim of the project is to promote and explore the development of social work supervision as a minimum standard for safe and effective care of those who are most vulnerable in Cambodia. Nourishing this workforce is an investment in the long-term development of the country.

Thank you for all your support and investment in this work supporting children, families and the people who care for them.

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