Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
May 20, 2008 News
Although more than 100 teachers were recently exposed to intense sessions geared at helping them address psychosocial problems in schools, it must be noted that they are in no way professional counsellors, according to Head of the University of Guyana’s Sociology Department, Mrs Barbara Thomas-Holder.
Thomas-Holder said that the teachers who were involved in four three-day workshops at the Ocean View International Convention Centre were trained with a view to having them become the frontline supporters of children when they enter the school system bringing along with them various problematic situations.
“We are all aware that, from time to time, our children are faced with very traumatic experiences…There are many accidents that occur, and we also know that children are sexually and physically abused, etc…”
According to Thomas-Holder, it has been deduced that whatever happens within the walls of the homes are usually taken by children into the school system — a place they spend most of their active hours.
And it is in this very environment, she noted, that teachers are confronted with the various issues, which they are in most cases unprepared to respond to and cope with.
As a result, she related, the workshops provided information to equip teachers with the relevant knowledge to deal with children who are traumatised to recover from their experiences, even as the impact of the traumatic situations.
“Even though they were enthusiastic about the training, it must be recognised that their increased ability does not make them professional counsellors; they are supporters, hence they must see the need to be conscious of a referral system.”
For this reason, Thomas-Holder said, effort was made through the provision of requisite knowledge and skills to assist teachers to aptly recognise when the time is right for children to receive professional services.
The many ways that the teachers were trained to detect the need for professional care include the ways to recognise symptomatic responses of children in traumatic circumstances.
“They were provided with supportive communication strategies to deal with loss and grief…these experiences are all emotionally draining for teachers, thus they were assisted in recognising when they themselves (teachers) are emotionally drained so that they can also seek professional intervention…”
According to the department head, it was pointed out to the teachers that psychosocial support is not difficult, since it hinges on little things that can prove to be critical to the process. She expounded that factors such as listening attentively, being there for children when they need help, being able to assist them while at play, as well as listening to their parents can also prove to be crucial in rendering psychosocial support.
The Sociology Department of the University of Guyana was given the responsibility of coordinating the workshops for teachers, as part of the Education Ministry’s efforts to address the problem by engaging a better response to traumatic experiences, primarily those which were brought on following the Lusignan and Bartica massacres.
In addition to the expertise of the university, the workshop was facilitated by the Sisters of Mercy and the Guyana Association of Professional Social Workers.
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