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The CENTER for VICTIMS of TRAUMA
Background: The Center for Victims of Trauma (CVT) is operating a project in Ethiopia to provide trauma rehabilitation services to Eritrean refugees currently living in refugee camps near the town of Mai Tsebri (the camps where CVT is active include Mai Ayni and Adi Harushin Tigray region. The present focus of CVT’s program is trauma counseling, supported by 3 Ethiopian Counseling Supervisors, 8 Ethiopian Counselors, 18 Eritrean Psychosocial Counselors, 2 Interpreter/Cultural Liaisons, 1 Program Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, and support staff.  The program activities are supervised by 2 Ethiopian Associate Trainers. The CVT Ethiopia program works with refugees who live in camps and all Eritrean program staff also live within the camps. In the Grant Year ending in May 2018, over 500 clients received counseling services. The intense group cycles take a toll on staff, and they require support from an external consultant who is able to process their own stresses and trauma, enabling them to continue carrying out their duties with compassion and diligence. While this service is primarily and originally targeting program staff (counseling staff and Interpreter/Cultural Liaisons), Program Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and support staff may also benefit from the services if time allows. Scope of Work: The objectives of the staff support consultant are to increase/strengthen staff resilience and to improve staff well being in ways that are associated with better client care.  In order to achieve them, the Consultant is engaged to: Provide a protected time and space in which the CVT Ethiopia employees can receive support from an independent, external mental health professional, either in group or individually;Enable staff to express, discuss and process difficult or painful emotional responses to situations, clients and other people at work;Enable the staff to discuss obstacles to team work that may arise from issues between individuals, within the team as a whole, or in response to wider situations that are affecting their work.Duration:A total of three visits to Mai Tsebri between July 2018 and May 2019, with 3.5 days of working day in each visit plus travel time.  The three visits are currently scheduled to be last week of July 2018, first week of November 2018, and mid-February 2019, with possibility for adjustment.