DepEd to provide psychological
counseling to Frank's victims

THE Department of Education said on Tuesday that it is offering psychological counseling to its personnel, particularly and starting in Region 6 which was one of the hardest hit by typhoon Frank.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said this will enable teachers and non-teaching personnel to cope with the stress and devastation wrought by Frank. He said the psychological intervention and clinical stress de-briefing program will equip concerned personnel with working knowledge and skills to take care of their own mental health and start moving on.

"After their own process of healing, we will count on these personnel to conduct psycho-social intervention and crisis management to other school personnel and children when needed," Lapus said.

The intervention would be conducted by highly trained personnel of the DepEd Health and Nutrition Office and resource persons from the National Center for Mental Health and the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Lapus said they plan to extend the program to other areas outside of Iloilo that were also affected by the typhoon.

The intervention activities will include lecture-discussion, demonstration and return demonstration, small group discussion and actual debriefing for some 1,622 participants. The project involves teachers, school health personnel, head teachers and principals in the affected areas.