Volunteers to support earthquake victims were trained at Selçuk University

A training seminar was organized by academics from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature, Faculty of Health Sciences and the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences for volunteers with the appropriate formation to provide psychological support to earthquake victims in Konya.

Delivering the opening speech of the training seminar held at Sultan Alparslan Cultural Center, Selçuk University Faculty of Letters, Head of Psychology Department Assoc. Prof. Gökhan Arslantürk said, "Psychological first aid service is a subject we are all familiar with. We are here with people from different levels of expertise. Considering the sensitivity of the work we will do, we thought it would be useful to make a preliminary preparation, to go to the field by giving a training. Our most basic principle is not to do harm first. We thought that this training is essential today in order to prevent potential damages. This training is based on what we should and should not do regarding possible situations we may encounter in the field. Today, we will distribute our volunteers from different specialties in the hall under the coordination of our professors to create a balanced, homogeneous situation. Each lecturer will have their own team, an area they will be responsible for. Our main goal is to have the same people contact the same earthquake victims. Our groups will be directed according to children and adults."

Prof. Dr. Özlem Karakuş, Head of the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Selçuk University, said: "Psychological first aid is the first psycho-social intervention approach during or after any event that causes negative effects at individual or social level such as disasters, violence, accidents, terrorist attacks. The purpose of gathering here with volunteers is that we can get in touch with the earthquake victims who came to Konya in order to make them feel that they are not alone."

Making a presentation on ethical principles in disasters, SU Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Social Work Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sinan Akçay said, "As a society, we are going through a difficult process. In this process, we are all in an effort to quickly heal the wounds. Some show this effort in the earthquake zone and some in the region where they are located. We need solidarity to overcome these difficult times. Today, we are all here together to show one of the best examples of this solidarity."

Providing information on the effects of disasters on child mental health and communication with children in psychological first aid services, Dr. Lecturer from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, SU. Prof. Dr. Muhammed Şükrü Aydın said, "In psychological first aid, we are trying to get the information requested by the earthquake victims. It is necessary to determine what they need. If children or parents are very stressed, it is important to make sure they are not alone. We need to keep our tone of voice calm and soft. We need to be on the same level while making eye contact with the child."

The training seminar was organized by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Doğa Başer, Deputy Head of the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Selçuk University, Dr. Lecturer Esra Çebi from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Selçuk University, Prof. Dr. Esra Çebi from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Selçuk University, Assist. Melek Fatma Nur Tarakçıoğlu from the Department of Psychology, Selçuk University Faculty of Letters, Assist. Şeyma Begüm Harmancı and Fatih Mehmet Aslan, PhD in Clinical Psychology.