by Dr. Tracy Demmons

18 September 2008

Kabul, Afghanistan: My name is Tracy Demmons and I am from Canada. I have been a UNV volunteer in Afghanistan since April 1, 2008, working as a Staff Counsellor.

Arriving in Kabul, I was nervous and excited, tired and wired, all at once (Was my hijab properly adjusted? Would I make my connection in Dubai? Are we there yet?!). Flying over the huge, dusty mountains below, I couldn’t help but think about the contrast in landscape between Scotland (wet, lush, lots of tea and great seafood), where I had been for four years, and Afghanistan (dry, dusty, and not a sea in sight!).

This difference was soon forgotten, however, as the first cup of tea was offered to me by Hilda, a UN staff member. I instantly felt at home, with a warm mug in my hand.

My job in Afghanistan is to psychologically and socially support UN staff. What does this mean in practice? Working at the UN can be stressful – especially, at times, in Afghanistan. Frequently UN staff members end up working in traumatic and crisis situations where the personal, professional and interpersonal dimensions of their lives are severely strained. In addition, many staff members are often separated from family and friends for long periods of time, and so personal support and social networks are sometimes greatly reduced and limited.

People cannot work and live like this forever; without proper support mechanisms and psychological follow-up after critical incidents, psychological distress, maladaptive coping behaviours (negative or detrimental behaviours for coping) and psychological burnout result.  

In order to prevent stress from escalating into larger problems, the Staff Counsellor offers support to the roughly 1,400 UN staff in Afghanistan for any work-related or personal concerns. Examples of these concerns may include cross-cultural adjustment issues, personal or interpersonal family problems, daily stress concerns, or experiences/hardships of a traumatic nature.

When people come to my office, I offer them a cup of tea and a listening ear, providing professional counselling support, assisting that person in making the best choices for their own health and well-being. When critical incidents arise, such as bombings or suicide attacks, the Staff Counsellors respond with professional interventions, such as defusing and debriefing, which assist staff members in recovering from the trauma, encouraging personal recovery and resilience.

While studying for my doctorate in Scotland, I had the opportunity to work as an intern with the Critical Incident and Stress Management Unit at the UN Headquarters in New York. During these 10 weeks, I was privileged to assist in the development of two training manuals to train 'Peer Helpers', or UN workers trained in basic psychosocial support. This included training some UN staff in areas such as stress management, emotional first aid and conflict resolution. The curriculum is now being used worldwide to train Peer Helpers.

Through this time I learned much and had many cups of tea and laughs with my supervisors and colleagues. The next year I had the opportunity to do further training with CISMU in Bangkok, Thailand where I became certified as a UN Staff Counsellor.

Following this internship and the completion of my studies, an opportunity came open to come to Afghanistan as a UNV volunteer Staff Counsellor. I was excited by the opportunity, but especially pleased that I would be working once again with counsellors I had trained with in Bangkok.

Afghanistan is a country of great hospitality, warmth, history and culture. There have been many years of conflict and struggle, but this is changing and I feel privileged to be a part of this healing and growth process.

The support that I offer as a counsellor to UN staff in a sense mirrors the support that the wider UN system offers to the Afghan people; the UN supports, assists and empowers the Afghan people to make the best decisions for a healthy future. Inshallah, this healing and growth will continue for years to come, with a cup of tea in hand.