The Besao Municipal Police Station, in cooperation with Besao Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Office, requested the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) through the Office of Guidance and Counselling to conduct a seminar on Mental Health and Psychological Support during Crisis, Emergencies and Disasters to their first responders on the 11th of December 2023 in Kin-iway, Besao. The participants were police and fire officers, municipal health workers, non-uniformed police officers, and the municipal budget officer.
The seminar aims to assist the disaster response team in addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of Besao people affected by crises, emergencies, and disasters, and helping them recover after a crisis. The participants admitted that addressing the emotional and mental well-being of victims and first responders is difficult especially since there are limited persons to do debriefing sessions or counseling. Based on the output and sharing of the participants, Ms. Agyapas mentioned that psychosocial support is already being practiced. The support does not need to be grand to be called support.
Ms. Agyapas continued presenting the MHPSS Pyramid and psychological first aid. She presented other things that first responders or psychological first aiders can do. These include listening, providing information, partnership with other agencies or people, psychoeducation on the normal and abnormal responses to disaster, reassurance, assistance in early detection of mental distress, teaching positive stress management skills, facilitating group activities, and referral system.
The last topic was post-crisis, disaster, and emergency self-care for responders. The group was divided into groups to discuss how they cope with their stressors in life. The groups presented various ways including eating, sleeping, exercising; traveling, spending time with family, meditating; outdoor activities such as hiking, trekking, and fishing; listening to music, going to church, and the like.
Finally, Ms. Agyapas provided coping in the context of crisis, disaster, and emergency, including thinking about what has helped them in the past, taking reasonable working hours, not being responsible for solving people’s problems, talking to their loved ones or someone whom they trust, acknowledging that they helped others, defusing, and debriefing.
