Nancy’s Global Civil Society Conference Abstracts
Mae Tao Clinic Counseling Services: A mental health refuge for displaced Burmese receiving cross-border health care
Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), founded and directed by Dr. Cynthia Maung and located along the Thai-Burma border in Mae Sot, Thailand, has been providing free health care to Burmese individuals and families, primarily ethnic minorities, since 1989. With an initial emphasis on providing emergency medical care to individuals crossing the border following the 1988 pro-democracy protests, MTC has grown to provide comprehensive health care services, including some of the first mental health counseling services for Burmese in the region. In 1999, needs assessments determined significant levels of psychological trauma along the border and a US-based foundation, Burma Border Projects, was founded to begin addressing mental health needs at Mae Tao Clinic. In 2006, the MTC Counseling Center was established to address the broad psychosocial needs of both MTC staff and patients. In 2008, more than 300 patients received care at the Counseling Center, with nearly half of the patients being diagnosed with psychological stress and nearly half presenting with either family problems or loss. The needs of the Counseling Center patients are broad, ranging from financial stress to severe PTSD following Cyclone Nargis, and the challenges of the Counseling Center staff are great, ranging from severely limited resources to vicarious trauma. Because safety and security are constant concerns for both the patients and the counselors, enhancing safety and managing the impact of hyper-vigilance are prioritized at the Counseling Center. With knowledge gained from foreign mental health specialists, skills learned on the job, and hope that they can make a difference in the lives of their patients, the MTC Counseling Center counselors are providing critical support to Burmese individuals and families severely impacted by landmine accidents, domestic violence, substance abuse, gender-based violence, and daily struggles of life inside Burma.
Burma Border Projects: An NGO’s experience and reflection on 10 years of humanitarian work along the Thai-Burma border
In 1999, responding to an appeal from Dr. Cynthia Maung, the exiled founder of the Mae Tao Clinic, in Mae Sot, Thailand, a group of American psychiatrists and psychologists assessed the level and extent of trauma experienced by displaced Burmese on the border, developed a strategy for providing mental health services, and founded Burma Border Projects (BBP). With a continued primary focus on mental health training and capacity-building, BBP is now dedicated to supporting and enhancing a broad range of relief efforts that address needs of displaced Burmese (mainly ethnic Karen and Shan) who struggle for survival along the border between Burma and Thailand. BBP works collaboratively in culturally relevant and competent ways with community based organizations in order to provide education and training, address gender based issues, provide and enhance mental health services, and develop sustainable materials and resources. During its 10 years of supporting border efforts, BBP has been witness to the impact of the severe human rights abuses inside Burma, the continuing displacement of Burmese individuals and families for economic, health, and security reasons, as well as the effects of multiple generations of Burmese living without legal status in Thailand. BBP’s work represents one approach that internationally-based non-governmental organizations can take to address the suffering of Burmese individuals, families and communities.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:17 am
That’s great to read the abstracts, thanks for posting them. I’m glad the conference and trips went well, despite the Quincy picture.