March On Stress

Interesting new paper into mental health interventions for Ebola workers

Added on the 15th February 2018

A new paper has been published after training peers in Sierra Leone to treat Ebola centre workers suffering with anxiety and depression.

A team of UK clinicians from South London and Maudsley NHS travelled to Sierra Leone to train a small team of ex-Ebola Treatment Centre staff in a three-phased Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based intervention.

Professor Neil Greenberg, one of the research authors, said: “Our study shows that it is indeed possible to train people in economically deprived countries in how to deliver basic psychotherapy interventions, with improvements in the mental health of those treated by their peers who had undergone the training.

“The experiences of paid and volunteer staff who responded to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will have been at least challenging and potentially traumatic. This training and the outcomes in support are significant in how we may support and empower groups to provide mental health interventions where access to mental health care may be limited otherwise.”

To access the research, please click here.

 

 

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