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Mental health and psychosocial support

We provide counselling and Psychological First Aid (PFA) in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Arabic as part of a retainer agreement with organisations (or through our responsive assistance programme).

Our wellbeing and resilience lead will work with your organisation leadership to agree the parameters of the retainer, including who is entitled to support and how many sessions a year they can access. Once an agreement is in place, your team members will be able to book counselling sessions in confidence using our online system and managers and peer supporters can request support for colleagues in the aftermath of critical incidents.

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Counselling

Counselling can help you address and resolve specific problems, make decisions, cope with crises, develop personal insights and knowledge, work through feelings of inner conflict, and improve relationships with others.

We understand the stressors and risks unique to our sector. Our team of highly-experienced psychologists and counsellors all have backgrounds in human rights movements or humanitarian action. They are multilingual and culturally sensitive, and are either based in or have extensive field experience across the global south.

We provide confidential counselling anywhere in the world via encrypted video consultations or in person in some locations. In situations where you are unable to access a stable internet connection, we are able to deliver text counselling via SMS or encrypted chat. We also offer eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) as an evidence-based and effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

We will never discuss the provision or content of counselling with your employer without your permission.

Psychological First Aid

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is an evidence-based approach for assisting people in the immediate aftermath of serious crisis events. It can reduce initial distress, foster short- and long-term coping behaviours, and reduce the occurrence of PTSD.

Managers and peer supporters can request PFA for colleagues in the aftermath of a security incident or traumatic event. Through one or more remote sessions, one of our counsellors will provide them with information on common responses to difficult experiences, offer supportive and practical help, and assess if they may require additional support.

Open Briefing is a member of the Association of Mental Health Providers and the Mental Health Innovation Network. All our psychologists, counsellors, and coaches are accredited by the relevant governing bodies. Our counselling services are GDPR and HIPAA compliant. Open Briefing holds worldwide professional indemnity and malpractice insurance.

Open Briefing is a certified social enterprise and a member of
the CIVICUS global civil society alliance and the Vuka! coalition