Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET-1) Training for Syrian Mental Health Professionals

[Arabic description attached]

In line with Restart Center’s Capacity Building Program, a training on Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) will be conducted (in Arabic) by certified NET trainers from Restart Center. This training will be financed and organized in partnership with the Danish Institute against Torture (DIGNITY). 

Overview on NET

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is a standardized treatment for trauma-spectrum disorders. It has most frequently been used in community settings and with individuals who had experienced multiple and complex trauma as result of political, cultural, or social forces. This treatment is conditionally recommended for the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). NET has been developed as a standardized short-term approach and it combines principles of testimony therapy, client-oriented therapy and cognitive-behavioral exposure. With the guidance of the therapist, the client establishes a chronological narrative of his or her life, concentrating mainly on his or her traumatic experiences, but also incorporating some positive events. It is believed that this contextualizes the network of cognitive, affective and sensory memories of a client’s trauma. By expressing the narrative, the client fills in details of fragmentary memories and develops a coherent autobiographical story. In so doing, the memory of a traumatic episode is refined and understood.

NET in the MENA Region

NET has most frequently been used to treat traumatized asylum seekers and refugees in high-income countries. Nonetheless, recent evidence has confirmed the effectiveness of NET with torture survivors in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, where health systems are unable to meet the increasing demands of rehabilitation necessitated by war and displacement. Data collected from 2013 to 2016 by DIGNITY, in collaboration with its partners, found statistically significant reductions in PTSD, anxiety and depression scores. PTSD scores decreased the most. Furthermore, these reductions in scores were more pronounced among women than men (original article:  http://irct.org/assets/uploads/1018-8185_2017-3_49-63%20NET.pdf).

To conclude, NET has not only been successful in treating trauma survivors in the Western World, but it has also demonstrated great success in this region, the MENA region.

Overview on the NET Training Agenda

This training will be conducted over three days; it will cover both the theoretical and practical components of NET.

Theory - Definitions of various psychological concepts, including: trauma, loss, PTSD, ASD, Depression, hot memories, cold memories, fear cascade and homeostasis will be explained. 

Practice - Participants will be asked to work either in pairs or in small groups in order to roleplay how to: ask questions, construct a lifeline in session, practice narration and so forth. Each group will be supervised by a trainer, who will provide direct feedback to participants. The trainers will also roleplay different steps in order to demonstrate how a typical NET session ought to look like.

Target participants

This project will target Syrian mental health professionals residing in Lebanon or in Syria. Thus, Syrian psychiatrists, psychologists, or lay counsellors working with victims of conflict, torture, violence and war traumas are encouraged to participate in this training.

When

This training will be conducted from Friday, January 18th till Sunday, January 20th, 2019.

Where

Beirut, Lebanon (exact venue TBD).

Eligibility

• Graduate degree (Master's degree or higher equivalent) in the field of psychology, psychiatry or psychological counseling.
• Experience in working with trauma victims for at least 3 years.
• Prepared to commit to clinical supervision for 3 to 6 months after training.

Accommodation, Transportation and Reimbursement Details

• Accommodation and transportation fees of participants living in Syria will be logistically handled, as well as financially covered.
• Access of participants living in Syria to Lebanese territories will be facilitated, if need be.
• Participants residing in Lebanon who are living far away from Beirut are entitled to accommodation, which will be financed by the training.
• Participants living in Beirut, Lebanon are not entitled to accommodation.
• Participants living in Lebanon (whether within or outside of Beirut) will be requested to make their own transportation arrangements. Participants will be reimbursed for transportation fees during the training.
• All participants staying at the hotel will be given a per diem allowance during the training.