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| 1. Cafe Palestine 37 on Saturday 27 January at 16:00 – 18:00 (UK time) 2. Cafe Palestine 38 3. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Monday 29 Jan at 13:00 (UK time) 4. “I just want to run”: Mental health care yet another casualty of Gaza war 1. Cafe Palestine 37 – Honouring the work of our colleagues in Gaza Saturday 27 January at 16:00 – 18:00 UK time This event will feature the work of some of the mental health teams working in Gaza and highlight their professionalism, dedication and creativity and their ongoing activities, despite the catastrophic conditions inflicted upon them. Since most colleagues in Gaza are cut off from electronic communication and have to focus on their own and their families’ survival, we wish to represent and honour them in whatever ways we can, at present mainly through our voices from outside. Dr Samah Jabr, Head of the Mental Health Unit, Palestine Ministry of Health will speak about the mental health implications of the ongoing assault on the people of Gaza, their homes and their vital infrastructure. David Harrold and Dr Mohamed Altawil will speak about the work of the Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza https://www.palestinetraumacentre.uk/ Nick Bilborough from the Hands Up Project will speak about their educational, creative writing and drama work with young people in Gaza https://www.handsupproject.org/ Mohammed Mukhaimar will speak about the work of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme In this Cafe we particularly welcome attendance from colleagues engaged in different mental health projects in Gaza and will aim to include them in future presentations. Speakers: Dr Mohamed Altawil spent his childhood in a Gaza refugee camp, and as an adult, became an expert in trauma therapy through 20+ years of experience in research and practice. First working in Gaza, he went on to set up the Palestine Trauma Centre in 2007. Dr Altawil was awarded his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hertfordshire (UK) in September 2008 with support from the Ford Foundation. He is a clinical psychologist registered with HCPC and a visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire. Representing a much-needed field of study in Palestine, his doctoral degree has enabled Dr Altawil to attend a number of International Conferences in the US, Europe and the Middle East. Nick Bilborough is a teacher of English as a foreign language, teacher-trainer and author. He holds an MA in Drama in Education and is particularly interested in the role of drama and storytelling techniques in second language learning. He is now devoting all his energy to the registered charity he set up – https://handsupproject.org providing learning and confidence building opportunities for young people, mostly in Gaza and other parts of occupied Palestine, through online intercultural connections , storytelling and drama activities. David Harrold works in education, specialising in helping students who have literacy difficulties. He is chair of trustees for Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) and has visited Gaza three times. On one of these visits he delivered a course on Drama therapy. Dr Samah Jabr is a psychiatrist practicing in the public and private sectors within Palestine in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. She is currently Head of the Mental Health Unit within the Palestinian Ministry of Health and an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural sciences at George Washington University, USA. Dr. Jabr’s areas of interest include the rights of prisoners, the problem of stigma, psychoanalysis, childhood trauma, and the integration of mental health within public health. She is a prolific writer in both academic and public media and author of several Arabic professional manuals and guidebooks, one of which, on Suicide Prevention, won the 2021 prize of the Arabpsy.net. Dr. Jabr is a founding member of the Palestine Global Mental Health Network. Dr Mohammed Mukhaimar is a psychologist who worked at the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme before moving to live and work in Cambridge, UK. He has led several projects aimed at developing mental health services in Palestine through training, clinical supervision, and consultancy. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87273844374?pwd=THpQSFBVWVNFYitmT3hDS29xUWR4QT09 2. The subsequent Cafe Palestine 38 will be on Saturday 24 February at 16.00- 18.00 (UK time) This Cafe Palestine will also focus on focus on Mental Health in Gaza. Further details to follow. 3. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Monday 29 Jan at 13:00 (UK time) These informal events provide an opportunity to talk, swap ideas and take actions together. The previously arranged time on Friday 26 January now clashes with the important announcement of the International Court of Justice preliminary findings in the Gaza Genocide case. Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the Action Half-Hour. 4. ‘I just want to run’: Mental health care yet another casualty of Gaza war Dr Samah Jabr is one of the contributors to this report. A burgeoning mental health crisis in the tiny coastal enclave is vastly overshadowed by the scale of death and destruction caused by more than three months of Israeli bombardment. But many experts believe psychological damage may prove one of the war’s most lasting legacies. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-01-23/i-just-want-to-run-mental-health-care-yet-another-casualty-of-gaza-war |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 