Dilaasa centre is a hospital based crisis centre primarily providing social and psychological support to woman dealing with violence. Amid the COVID 19 pandemic, nationwide lockdown and uncertainty, Dilaasa centre witnessed a myriad of emotional difficulties among beneficiaries reaching out in dealing with the unprecedented challenge. Dilaasa by the virtue of its location in public hospitals identified an opportunity to provide psychosocial support to patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and their relative as part of public health response to COVID-19.
Recognising the need to support Dilaasa team CEHAT organised a training session for all 11 Dilaasa centre on ‘Psychological First Aid for COVID-19 Patients and Relatives’. The virtual training was conducted on 12th and 13th July 2021 for the entire Dilaasa team including counsellors, ANMs and Data Entry Operators from 11 hospitals. To ensure smooth functioning of the centre and accommodate the entire team, two members from each centre attended the session on the first day while the rest attended the next day.
The training stated was divided into three parts.
The training session highlighted the importance of providing psychological first aid as a tool, dealing with traumatic experience like quarantine, isolation, loss of loved ones and lock down. The training aimed to enable Dilaasa team to provide psychological and emotional support to patients diagnosed COVID-19 and their relatives.
The session was received positively by the team and conveyed the training being useful especially since beneficiaries approached them for psychological support during these difficult times. Resource materials used for training was well appreciated by the participants.
Psychological First Aid (PFA) for COVID 19 Patients and their Family menbers