Stress and security briefing and debriefing
Briefings
Antares organises one-day preparation briefings on a regular basis for international staff leaving for the field . These sessions are designed for one to five people.
The briefing aims to give an orientation on how a person can manage stress and security on an individual level, as well as management of stress and security of the team.
The briefings do not cover operational issues. The main focus is on raising awareness in the individual, how to recognize their own limits and how to support positive stress management in their teams.
The orientation on stress management covers the following subjects:
- Expectations - working on realistic expectations
- Personal background and experiences with stressful situations and critical incidents
- What is stress? (ongoing, cumulative and traumatic)
- Signs and symptoms
- Coping strategies (positive and negative)Burn out and PTSD
- Resources
- Risk factors (personal and context related)
- Network (informal and formal)
- Stress and security/safety
- Action plan
The orientation on security management covers the following subjects:
- Background and experiences in insecure situations
- Principles of safety/security in relation to stress-management
- Safety issues (travelling, money handling)
- Safety and security protocols
- Personal health and medical evacuation procedures
- Methods for analysis of the security situation:
- Contextual analysis
- Risk analysis
- Security strategies
- Behaviour and relations: counterparts, partner organisations, authorities, rebels and militia
- Communication: HQ-field, inter-agency, decision making and consensus
- Abduction
Debriefings
For international staff returning from their field mission, we offer regular stress and security debriefings. These debriefings enable the field staff to reflect on their time in the field, discuss their impressions and feelings and specific incidents if applicable. These debriefings are suitable for all staff returning from the field. The sessions are for 1 ½ - 2 hours and follow up meetings can be arranged when needed or advised.
The debriefings are conducted by mental health specialists with extensive field knowledge.
Regular debriefings are always on a one-to-one basis.
For special debriefings and group debriefings in the field: see field support.
Individual Stress Debriefings
Topics covered, where appropriate:
- Short personal background
- Short professional background
- Mission and job/tasks description
- General health questions
- Do you think/feel you were sufficiently prepared?
- What were the stressors in the project for you personally?
- How did you handle them?
- Did you find your team members supportive towards you and towards each other?
- What was the role and influence of the team manager?
- Could you and did you ask for help when facing trouble and did you receive it? In what way?
- Have there been critical incidents?
- How did you/your team/your manager deal with them?
- Were you exposed to general/ongoing misery?
- Were there regular and sufficient R&R facilities/possibilities?
- Did you feel that what you did was useful?
- How did your partner, relatives, friends feel/think about your work?
- While you were in the field/now you are back?
- Expectations for the future
- Analysis/summarizing the above
- Discussing if more help/attention is needed
- Action plan
Please note that the content of all of our stress management trainings, briefings and debriefings is strictly confidential.
