Caring for the caregivers

What about traumatic events that you can’t prepare for?

Infrequently, international staff can experience direct exposure to a traumatic event—this would be if you were directly attacked or threatened, or directly witnessed violence or suffering. Traumatic memories like these tend to stay with us unless we address them.

Furthermore, secondary exposure to trauma can occur when a staff member experiences trauma through a patient, hearing some really horrible stories on a daily basis. Sometimes, MSF sends psychologists to our projects to counsel both local and international staff in the event of a traumatic incident, or if teams are dealing with particularly stressful stories day after day. And counseling is always available by phone or videoconference. When international staff come home to the US, we can connect them to a therapist where they live. For local staff, where it’s possible, we can hire local psychologists to provide ongoing support.

Most returning international staff members report their experience as positive, and many talk about how it has changed them. Some have had difficult experiences before working with MSF, and helping others restores meaning and fulfillment for them. Turning adversity into opportunity is what we call “post-traumatic growth.”