Peace Corps provides supplemental, evidence-based psychotherapies to treat a variety of mental health concerns when a Volunteer’s capacity for resilience and adjustment is exceeded as they acclimate to culture and service in a new community and work environment. Volunteers have chosen and are medically cleared to serve in challenging, resource scarce, and often remote circumstances. Along with feelings of excitement, connected, gratitude, and joy, feelings of discomfort including frustration, disappointment, loneliness, doubts and worries are normal and expected range of reactions. Yet there may be times when a Volunteer experiences ongoing feelings of depression or anxiety, has sleep difficulties, experiences a traumatic event, or is concerned about alcohol consumption; and if these symptoms persist and begin to impact daily functioning, then engaging in counseling may be helpful. The following points may be helpful to consider:
“Preventative Mental Health Care”
Counseling therapy has a wide range of utilities in a person’s life. It can be used for early prevention efforts aimed towards promoting healthy life style or better relationships and may include interventions to address acute distress, specialized treatment for specific disorders, or urgent care for stabilization of severe symptoms.
Counseling is not the only method to promote psychological well-being at the prevention level. Peace Corps encourages Volunteers to use different tiers of support for preventative care. These activities can include regular exercise, journaling, creative expressions, social connections, meditation, and sleep hygiene to enhance a person’s emotional, personal, physical, and spiritual well-being.
Working closely with your primary care providers, in this case, PCMOs, to develop new coping strategies and tools can resolve many of the stressors associated with serving as a Volunteer. Your PCMOs also have received specialized training, with support from the Regional Mental Health Officer, on how to assist Volunteers with adjustment-related concerns.
The Peer Support and Diversity Network (PSDN) is an excellent resource designed to fill the need of Volunteers who are experiencing normative adjustment-related stressors. The support and connections that PSDN fosters can be an invaluable preventative resource for Volunteers.
“What is brief therapy?”
Counseling and therapy have different approaches and can be tailored to address an individual’s concerns. Research has demonstrated the efficacy of time-limited, short- term therapy for a wide range of concerns. Time-limited counseling does not mean that that the treatment is less effective. In fact, people often find that the time-limited approach facilitates the change process by staying focused and motivated on reaching their counseling goals.
Peace Corps’ approach to mental health care services
Peace Corps recognizes the importance of the mental well-being of the volunteers. The COU and the RMHO partners with PCMOs to provide early primary support to PCVs to address their issues. In Peace Corps, counseling is considered a specialty care and COU services are aimed to assist the volunteers who are in need of therapeutic treatment. Therefore, Volunteers will work with their PCMOs to determine appropriateness of referral for counseling services to meet their specific needs.
Commenti