Social Health Care for Healing Syrian Refugees

The Social Health Care Program is expanding its grassroots training of humanitarian aid staff,volunteers and students. New collaborations with the Syrian American Medical Society(SAMS) and the National Arab Medical Association (USA) has allowed SHC to expand our services to personnel and refugees in Turkey as well as Jordan. Through this collaboration, another  triage medical intervention  in the refugee camps in Jordan was facilitated in September. The collaboration brought service to over 2000 people in four days. These collaborations reflect the expanding demand for trauma treatment training for the refugees as psychosocial needs are high and services few. Collaboration with SAMS and NAMA, along with IFSMA and the Human Doctor Project in Jordan has creately expanded our capacity to get services where needed.

SHC staff are leaving October 9th for Jordan and Turkey for trainings in crisis intervention services; support groups in the treatment of trauma; and perceptual learning styles and their effects in trauma treatment for volunteers, students, and NGO staff. Additionally, SHC staff and students will be running a psychosocial treatment clinic for refugees suffering from PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, we will be following up with certain cases from previous visits to the region. Two conferences (one in each country), International Conference on Transgenerational Trauma, brings professionals from throughout the world to provide additonal training in a wide variety of issues for the grassroots staff on the ground. Training will include EMDR, Non Violent Communication Skills, Psychiatric Intervention, Models for education and treatment of trauma, Indigenous approaches to treating trauma, and numerous professional panels discussing issues and needs on the ground.