Traumatized children receive a lending ear

“We are Listening to You” is a new service at the al-Resalah hospital, giving children a chance to speak out and release frustration.

Seyaj organization has signed with al-Resalah psychiatric hospital care in Sana’a, last month, an agreement to carry out a new service, titled “We are Listening to You”, providing needed consultations and psychological support for traumatized children for free. This service will be provided by phone or through direct meetings.
 
Both parties are committed to keep the confidentiality of the cases in line with the hospital’s professional ethics and Seyaj’s policies to protect children.
 
The agreement was signed between Ahmed al-Gorashi, the head of Seyaj, and Dr. Mansour Ali al-Sharji, executive director of Al-Resalah psychiatric hospital. 
The service provides two phone lines to receive calls of those traumatized children who are either juveniles or victims. Professional psychiatrists will be responsible to respond to the complaints and provide consultations and if it’s needed to transfer them to direct sessions or admit them to the hospital, 30-40 percent discount from the fees of the diagnosis and the admission will be offered to the children.
 
Seyaj aims at breaking the culturally known stigma and fear of seeking psychological care in our country as if it’s considered to be an official declaration of social disability. The organization intends to work at building up a confidence inside the victims to ask for psychological support. That will be happening through lots of public awareness, advertisements, and hoped-for success with this project’s cases. Seyaj believes strongly on the importance for victims to speak up about their trauma which will decrease the sense of humiliation and help the children not to develop distress characters.
 
Therefore, Seyaj seeks to build up workers’ capacity in the Psychological Support Unit and seeks to dedicate a special room, equipped with the required supplies, for the victims.
 
The agreement took place with the escalating need of psychological care in light of the increasing violations against children. The society degrades the significance of the psychological support and considers it as shameful. Seyaj, therefore, has previously signed with Al-Resalah hospital an agreement in July 27, 2009 to provide general psychological care for the traumatized children and now it signed the new agreement, providing to a new service, titled “We are Listening to You”.
 
Initiatives like this agreement are very important for children who desperately need psychological care, helping them overcome their trauma. As a result, Seyaj is working on developing and expanding similar community services through getting new partners, networking with international and regional organizations.

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