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One can never guarantee psychosocial support. Thus, one can facilitate processes that promote psychosocial wellbeing, including that of volunteers

Nana Wiedemann, Director of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a speaker at ICSSPE’s 3rd International Seminar on Sport in Post-Disaster Intervention, which was to be held at Rheinsberg, Germany, 2 - 8 November, 2009.

Prior to the event, Project Manager Lukas Bothe met Ms Wiedemann and spoke with her about the Reference Centre’s activities.

ICSSPE: Ms Wiedemann, given the increasing number of natural and man-made disasters - leading to millions of traumatised people worldwide - the need for psychosocial support seems to be obvious. Yet, this need has not always been recognised. When did the idea of an international reference centre first arise and how long did it take to establish the organisation?

Nana Wiedemann(NW): In 1992, the Red Cross and Red Crescent held a number of consultations with National Societies to understand the needs for psychological support. It was decided to establish a Centre of Excellence in Denmark in 1993 with the purpose to promote psychosocial wellbeing to volunteers, staff and beneficiaries, globally. During the last 16 years, we have worked to increase the capacity of the Centre and to improve our tools, approaches and services.

ICSSPE: The Reference Centre in Copenhagen acts in concert with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In which fields of work do you cooperate with other NGOs?

NW: The PS Centre is an outsourced function of the Red Cross Red Crescent Secretariat in Geneva. We collaborate with numerous humanitarian agencies, for example when developing the Sphere Guidelines and the Interagency Minimum Standards for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies. We are reaching out to partner organisations in order to develop lessons learned, best practices and state of the art tools.

ICSSPE: What does your everyday work look like? Do you develop schemes that are to be adopted by the various national societies later on or do you work with them individually? Do you adopt special techniques for particular disaster scenarios?

NW: Our work is very different from day to day. One day, we are occupied with support to the Federation or to National Societies in cases of natural disasters or post-conflict situations. The next day, we may be developing tools for social care programmes, arranging training of trainers or meeting with partners to increase our common capacity. Sharing the concepts of our psychosocial work in emergencies at the seminar on Sport in Post-Disaster Intervention is a good example of such an activity. Another example could be a visit to a National Society supporting their efforts to develop a psychosocial strategy or taking part in a needs assessment or an evaluation.

ICSSPE: At this year’s Sport in Post-Disaster Intervention Seminar, there was a session on interventions in armed conflict settings. How do you think a psychosocial support approach may have to differ there, compared to a “usual” natural disaster scenario?

NW: When a conflict or an emergency is ongoing, the stressors are still enormous. That means that one can only hope to cope as well as possible, given the situation, and not to be overcome by the emotional consequences of the situation. Protection, information sharing and care for children and vulnerable populations would be seen as key. Working on behalf of the Red Cross Red Crescent, we don’t work in armed conflicts – that would be the mandate of the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, we may often consult with the involved partners on how to best provide psychosocial support.

ICSSPE: The title of your seminar session at Rheinsberg hints at a relatively new development in the field of psychosocial support; “Promoting psychosocial wellbeing of beneficiaries, staff and volunteers.” The helpers’ need for help has long been neglected. How has this change come about?

NW: One can never guarantee psychosocial support. Thus, one can facilitate processes that promote psychosocial wellbeing, including that of volunteers. One can build structures to support staff and volunteers – the helpers – before, during and after an emergency or a disaster. This is not a luxury but a moral obligation for an humanitarian organisation.

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