Nepal Earth Quake Appeal: Call for Volunteer Psychological Therapists from the Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT)

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The Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT) www.britainnepalmedicaltrust.org.uk is looking for volunteers to work with them for two to four weeks with their team in Nepal.

As all of you may be aware, Nepal is preparing for the rehabilitation in the post-earthquake situation. As one of the oldest non-governmental organisations working in Nepal, the BNMT have teams providing primary care medical support and supplies, shelter, clean water and sanitation. Other major area of support is in Mental Health. Many people are severely traumatised by their experience and BNMT is supporting communities with trauma counselling. The BNMT have trained a pool of counsellors who are at present working with the Ministry of Health in earthquake affected districts in providing psychosocial support and counselling to communities.

The BMT now realise that Nepal needs trained counsellors who are willing to work at the community level week after week with the poorest population to ensure that everyone has free access to mental health services. There have been a number of studies that show that mental disorders due to an earthquake include depression, cognitive function disorder, PTSD, schizotypal personality. Unfortunately, many people are not able to get the mental health assistance they need to regain control of their lives and become positive Nepali citizens again. Our estimate is that Nepal runs the risk of having a large percent of the population suffer from some type of mental health disorder due to the recent earthquakes.

We are looking for fully qualified counsellors and experience of working in crisis situations. They will be involved in training of staff members and government counterparts to facilitate and set up community support groups. Occasionally this person might need to travel out to the rural areas together with staff members. They will also provide assistance to teachers/school staff on how to work with students in the post-earthquake situation, they would need to have an understanding of child development in age appropriate crisis interventions within school settings.

For more information contact Shobhana Gurung Pradhan, Director, The Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT), Head Office - Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal, Phone: 977 1 4436434/ 4428240