Supporting aid worker wellbeing

Our approach to staff support is integrated and systematic. As such, we work to strengthen aid worker wellbeing across a number of interconnected levels:

• At an individual level, by equipping aid workers, staff and volunteers with strategies and tools to enhance their own wellbeing in the field or at home, and providing them with access to psychological preparation, counselling and debriefing services;         
• At a manager level, by training and mentoring managers in areas of staff support, psychological first aid and critical incident stress management, and supporting them to identity potential sources of psychosocial risk in the workplace;                                                           
• At an organisational level, by working with organisations to assess their current staff care systems and policies and implement, where necessary, more effective systems of support; and                               
• At a sector level, by being ongoing advocates for aid worker mental health and wellbeing.

We practice a resilience-based approach to staff support, where the emphasis is on continuously building up the coping mechanisms of individuals and organisations to enable faster recovery from crisis and adversity.