Civil unrest: Social workers equipped on trauma healing

Following increasing cases of mental depression, leading to deaths due to trauma, emanating from incessant civil unrest in Nigeria, a non-governmental organization, Nigeria IDP Diaspora Support Group, has trained Nigerian social workers in trauma handling.

Coordinator of the four-day workshop, Dr. Wale Lagundoye, on Thursday, said the desire to train stakeholders in trauma healing of victims of civil unrest, was been done by Nigerian Indigent medical doctors practicing in the United Kingdom.

According to Dr. Lagundoye, the workshop was aimed at training key stakeholders to help mitigate in the many cases of traumatized patients resulting from crisis.

The trauma healing workshop held in Jos, the Plateau State capital, was at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital and participants were drawn from medical doctors and community caregivers.

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Facilitators of the event who are Nigerian Indigent medical doctors practicing in the United Kingdom, said they came to Nigeria to render the humanitarian service as part of social and humanity service to their fatherland.

Earlier, in an address, local organising coordinator of the event, Dr. Daniel Mwanmut, a retired Occupational Health Physician, said the workshop will facilitate better opportunities to treat depression related issues, particularly those of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

Dr. Mwanmut, said the 45 participants were drawn from Medical Doctors, Community workers, Pharmacists, civil societies, truama victims, and other social welfare caregivers, drawn from nine states in the country.

Presenting a lecture at the workshops, Dr. Geoffrey Ijomah, said emotional stresses creates more trauma, depression, and mental stress, and it kills faster.

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Dr. Ijoma, who is a former consultant, forensic Psychiatrist with special interest in psychotherapy, said self-care for trauma was needed.

According to her, Syrian health workers handling severe stress have earlier been trained in a similar seminar by MANSAG and the Nigerian IDP Diaspora Support Group.

He stressed that depressed people need psychotherapy to enable patients extend their life span, advising that friends and relations should periodically be in touch with traumatized persons.

On his part, another speaker at the seminar, Dr. Femi Adebajo, said manifestation of a traumatised patients could led to mental disorder.

Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos