PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON THE IMPACT OF TRAUMA – 22 January 2019. VENEU: NATIONAL HOSPITAL TRAUMA CENTER, ABUJA
Registration for the workshop began as early as 7.30 a.m at the National Hospital Trauma Center, Abuja, and venue of the workshop.
THEME: “THE IMPACT OF TRAUMAS AND TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES ON SOCIETAL HEALTH: AN INITIATIVE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS”
Our daily lifestyles are sometimes full of traumas and traumatic experiences. We encounter traumas and traumatic experiences sometimes at home, in our relationships, with our health, in work places, on the road, and even through Radio, TV and Newspaper stories. Traumatic events/experiences/conditions can be painful and frightening that the mere thought of them can simply overwhelm and incapacitate a victim but with good training, a person can overcome the traumas of life and lead a fulfilled life. Such collaborative workshop training was held on the 22nd of January 2019 on the “IMPACT OF TRAUMAS AND TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES ON SOCIETAL HEALTH: AN INITIATIVE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS”.
THE WORKSHOP (ORGANISATION / SPONSORSHIP, PRESENTERS AND PARTICIPATION)
The workshop presenters identified two main traumas, physiological trauma and psychological trauma and their impact on the individual and the society as well as trained the participants on the necessary trauma coping skills and how to live with the new normal. Similar effort was made to show participants how to manage and help people in trauma. The workshop was organized/sponsored by Bloomfield Consults Limited, the Association of Christian Counsellors of Nigeria (ACCNIG), SDF International Initiative, the Limi Hospitals and the Nisa Premier Hospital. The main objective of the workshop was to create awareness of what traumas are; their impact on societal mental health and to proffer solutions necessary for societal mental health wellness. It was indeed a knowledge-based workshop that attracted over 130 participants from different professions including the Defence headquarters which sent senior Army, Navy and Air-force officers, the Police, the Nigerian Prison Service, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP), National Human Rights Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, members of the Association of Christian Counsellors of Nigeria (ACCNIG) and members of the Counsellors Association of Nigeria (CASSON), NGOs, the Presidential Commission on the North Initiative, workers from the Supreme Court and various government ministries, The Limi Hospital, NISA Premier Hospital, Garki Hospital, National Hospital Abuja, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, government and private secondary school teachers / administrators, Medical Interns and private individuals.
WORKSHOP TOPICS
The main workshop topics were ; ‘The Impact of Traumatic Experiences on health: the Surgeon’s Perspective’; ‘Understanding the Impact of Traumatic experiences on Societal Health; and ‘Understanding the Impact of Trauma on health and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). These topics were expertly facilitated by Dr. Okoye, the Consultant General and Trauma Surgeon at the National Hospital Trauma Center, Abuja; Dr. Emeka, the Neurosurgeon at the National Hospital Trauma Center Abuja, Dr. Ityo, the Consultant Trauma/ Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of Clinical Services, NISA Premier Hospital/Garki Hospital Abuja, and Rev. Dr. Ronald King, the President of the Association of Christian Counsellors of Nigeria who gave the lecture on PTSD who ended his presentation with the statement that “the extent to which a society will develop will majorly depend on the extent to which its citizens have the soundness of mind to work and to innovate”.
