Nola Reporter

Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji, Director of  Xavier’s Center for Equity Justice and Human Spirit (CEJHS), was asked  to create mental health modules to train Ukrainian psychologists. These  modules will help psychologists assist Ukraine refugees during the  ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Dr. West-Olatunji is a professor in Xavier’s  counseling education program and the Director and founder of Xavier’s  Center for Traumatic Stress Research (CTSR). She has initiated several  clinical research projects focusing on culture-centered community  collaborations designed to address issues rooted in systemic oppression,  such as transgenerational trauma and traumatic stress. Dr.  West-Olatunji is aware that the emotional consequences of war and  disaster on communities mean that many Ukrainian refugees need mental  health healing.  

Dr. West-Olatunji has previously  coordinated disaster mental health outreach projects, including  post-Katrina New Orleans; South Africa, in response to the HIV-AIDs  epidemic; and the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck  Haiti.  She has also led a People-to-People delegation to India focusing  on Disaster Mental Health Counselling and developed a model for  culture-centered disaster mental health counseling that she has  delivered to mental health professionals in Thailand, India, England,  Ireland, China, and Haiti. 

For over three decades, Dr. West-Olatunji  has engaged in clinical practice and research related to trauma. She  partnered with the Mental Health Academy (MHA) to create the Culture-centered Disaster Mental Health Counselling (C-DMHC) Credentialing Program,  the world’s leading online disaster counseling course. The program  prepares mental health practitioners to be fully equipped to work in  disaster-affected populations. She serves as the course facilitator,  providing insight into her online program and has helped thousands of  mental health professionals globally.  

C-DMHC teaches best-practice strategies,  clinical skills, and cultural insights to effectively serve  disaster-affected areas worldwide. The course covers a range of topics  to increase knowledge regarding disaster mental health counseling,  mental health issues resulting from experiencing disasters, assessment  for disaster-affected clients, traumatic stress, working with vulnerable  client populations, deployment site arrival, and more to prepare  professionals in disaster-affected areas.  

Dr. West-Olatunji developed the  credentialing program due to her deployment in New Orleans following  Hurricane Katrina. Over the years, she gained experience working with an  interdisciplinary team of colleagues, psychiatrists, psychologists,  social workers, psychiatric nurses, and disaster responders, such as law  enforcement and military forces. Working with teams helped her acquire  many skills and perspectives to develop C-DMHC.  

“I used my disaster mental health  counseling model to create C-DMHC as an online training program because  disaster mental health is minimally covered in any training programs  across mental health disciplines,” said Dr. West-Olatunji.  

When disasters happen, mental health  professionals are often called upon to help despite no prior training in  how to work in disaster-affected areas. Dr. West-Olatunji knew it was  imperative to have disaster mental health training available for  professionals to be ready to help others when disaster strikes.  

When the Russia-Ukraine war erupted, MHA  was contacted to help train Ukrainian psychologists and mental health  providers in assisting over 6 million Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Dr.  West-Olatunji was also approached by MHA and clinicians in Europe who  asked her what could be done to help Ukrainians.  

Dr. West-Olatunji released portions of her  C-DMHC program and expanded on its modules to fit the needs of the  Ukrainians and help psychologists interact with refugees. She selected  topics from her course she felt would best aid the mental health  professionals as they counsel their Ukrainian patients. She will also  conduct a live introductory webinar to be translated into Ukrainian.  

“Many Ukrainian psychologists are working  in shelters where Ukrainians have relocated to get away from the  country’s dangerous hotspots. People are transitioning in and out of the  shelter, so one module I thought they should know is how to engage in  triage, the urgency of deciding the order of treating large numbers of  patients,” shared Dr. West-Olatunji. “Psychologists need to access who  are most vulnerable, where needs are the greatest, and how you might  respond differently to people based on how each person is functioning.” 

Along with assessment and triage, another module she knew would benefit psychologists is operating amidst chaos.  

“I included a unit on working in the  trenches that has direct interventions of what mental health  professionals need to do, or what items someone would take with them to  be able to work with individuals who are affected by war,” stated Dr.  West-Olatunji.  

As mental health professionals typically  work with clients in one-on-one settings, Dr. West-Olatunji also felt it  was necessary to include modules discussing teamwork. Working as an  interdisciplinary team to provide disaster mental health services is  essential as mental health professionals work alongside other  professionals and responders in disaster environments.  

Another module discusses preparation and  how to function on the go and emphasizes the importance of on-hand  resources, such as backpacks, which allow people to carry multiuse and  lightweight necessities. She also discusses being adaptable to  surroundings as there may not always be available water or restrooms,  and weather conditions can vary from hot to cluttered with debris.  

The most important module Dr.  West-Olatunji included for the psychologists was compassion fatigue.  Compassion fatigue is the physical, emotional, and psychological impact a  person feels from helping others.  

“One of the hazards of working with people  who experience trauma is secondary trauma—we can mirror trauma symptoms  of those we serve. We can’t help anyone if we ourselves are  experiencing this,” she said. “We’re human, so it’s very difficult to  work with trauma-affected clients throughout the day without being  personally impacted in some way, which compromises our ability to be  helpful. We also have our own lived experiences and exposure to trauma  in our lives. In this module, I talk about how to stay sane, healthy,  and whole so that we, as mental health professionals, can continue to  provide services day after day.” 

Dr. West-Olatunji expresses that mental  health modules will be impactful and beneficial to Ukraine psychologists  and the Ukraine community. After watching videos of people on the  ground working in Ukraine, it was evident mental health disaster  training was needed. 

“The model I’ve developed is from the  ground up in which we as professionals take on a different kind of role  and help people themselves begin to develop the necessary skills,” said  Dr. West-Olatunji. “We’re ravished by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires,  war, and a pandemic all at the same time. We need to teach people what  they need to do to be able to respond, and we need a new model, and  that’s what I’ve proposed.”   

Two Ukrainian Xavier faculty members, Dr.  Galina Goloverda and Dr. Vladimir Kolesnichenko, emphasized the  importance of supporting the people of Ukraine in this time of turmoil  and devastation. 

“As Xavier faculty, whose mission is  promoting the creation of a just and humane society through education,  we feel that supporting Ukraine at these difficult times is vital as  Ukraine is at the front line for defending not only its land but also  the best moral values of the democratic world,” Dr. Goloverda and Dr.  Kolesnichenko stated. “Unfortunately, each day of this war is another  hundred(s) of dead defenders, killed, raped and tortured civilians and  broken lives. This is why it is very important now to emphasize the  mental and physical health of Ukrainians. We are very proud of our  country for leading the world in helping Ukraine in many different ways,  and we know that Ukrainian people appreciate this help deeply.” 

Original source can be found here.