BasicNeeds-Ghana and the Mental Health Society of Ghana (MEHSOG), on December 3, 2019, began a two-day workshop to integrate trauma informed interventions into the community mental health module of the Model for Mental Health and Development. The workshop is funded and facilitated by the Danish Institute against Torture (DIGNITY Institute).
The workshop is part of activities being undertaken under a project titled “Strengthening Access to Timely and Quality Rehabilitation to Survivors of Torture and Organised Violence in Ghana”. The theme of the workshop – “Walk the Journey Together” – is informed by key findings from a study conducted between September 2018 and March 2019 which mainly pointed out that most people who access treatment at traditional and faith-based healing centres may be exposed to traumatic experiences which may go unidentified and untreated. The workshop is expected to produce a refined community mental health model that addresses the needs of victims and survivors of torture and organised violence by helping them to recover and rehabilitate.
The opening session of the workshop was used to recap work done so far by the project partners. These include the initial partnership meeting in December 2017, the inception workshop in June 2018, the pilot study in December 2018, the dissemination forum in March 2019, the phase 2 project design in June 2019 and the expanded pilot study in August 2019. Programme Manager responsible for international rehabilitation at DIGNITY Institute, Jeanette Kørner, re-emphasised the theme of the workshop by expressing her satisfaction with the level of collaboration exhibited by the project partners – BasicNeeds-Ghana and MEHSOG. We will update readers on how the workshop progresses.
