Gaza – September 28, 2016: The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) conducted 7 educational support sessions for women in the Gaza Strip via its Psychological Counseling and Consultation Program. The meetings were attended by 105 participants, and addressed marital problems, fear, psychological pressures, psychological debriefing, and dangers of using Tramadol.
PWWSD women’s support groups also held several meetings in marginalized border area in 4 Gaza Strip governorates.
PWWSD psychologists met with 39 new cases of women dealing with marital problems, family problems, behavioral problems, and spousal abuse.
It is worth noting that meetings and case follow-ups were conducted in coordination with Tamer Institute for Community Education, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, Women Programme Center – Maghazi, AFAQ for Community Development, Youth & Environment Association, An-Nahda Charitable Society for Community Development, Al-Ataa Charitable Society, Abdul-Rahman Kindergarten, Al-Shibl Al-Mobde’ Kindergarten, and Hala Gaza Kindergarten.
PWWSD Gaza Coordinator, Sawsan Elayan said that the counseling team received supervision sessions by Dr. Akram Nafe’, totaling 16 training hours addressing case follow-up, managing conflict and phobias, case discussion, and staff psychological debriefing.
Elayan expressed the counseling team’s pleasure to reach marginalized border areas, and provid the required services. She praised the constant coordination efforts between partner organizations, emphasizing the counseling team’s readiness to tackle any emergencies under this ongoing and suffocating Israeli siege over the Gaza Strip, and its negative and lasting impact on citizens.
Director of AFAQ for Community Development, Ibtisam Rukon called for increasing the number of awareness sessions to meet the citizens’ needs. She expressed her gratitude to the counseling team for holding these sessions and following up with cases in need of psychosocial support.
Director of Palestinian Child’s Friends Association, Dr. Awatef Hleil thanked the PWWSD counseling team for working with Rafah residents, who suffer from constant psychological pressures following the consecutive Israeli aggression targeting the Strip.
It is noted that these awareness groups by PWWSD have contributed to alleviating some of the psychological pressure experienced by Gaza residents. Emphasizing the massive amount of interaction between psychologists and participants in support groups and awareness session.