Building Resilience Together: Offering Essential Support and Training for Crisis Response and Recovery
“Advancing hope is our job – it’s our focus day in and day out – as we work with people in crisis.” – Dr. Marcie Beigel, CECT Cadre Member
Dr. Marcie Biegel on Fostering Healing and Hope for Children Fleeing War:
“I served on the CECT responding to the Afghan refugee crisis, offering my expertise as a parent specialist who works with families and schools grappling with challenging behaviors. Our goal was to provide emotional health support and training to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement’s 400+ mental health providers. Ultimately our charge was to help the helpers unpack and process trauma. These providers were responsible for helping young people with unimaginable change in such a short period of time – from learning a foreign language to adjusting to a new culture and school system. Although these kids are safe in the U.S., their path to reunification with their families is complex and faces uncertainty. This is an intensely volatile and traumatic experience.
I encountered a group of providers who had rarely heard ‘thank you’ at the end of a long day, much less a pat on the back to signal, ‘You got this!’ During the 14 months I hosted a weekly Zoom emotional health training session, I made it a point to start each of our meetings with a moment of gratitude. This simple recognition not only made the providers feel seen and appreciated, but also set a positive tone for our substantive discussions on a variety of mental health care topics. These sessions provided practical expertise but also a safe space for providers to be vulnerable, candid, and emotional. Within this nurturing environment, we advanced hope, emphasizing the remarkable and enduring impact of mental health providers’ work on young people in crisis. Day by day, we reinforced the idea that their efforts contribute significantly to others’ journey toward emotional wellness.”
About Vibrant’s Crisis Emotional Care Team:
Vibrant’s Crisis Emotional Care Teams (CECT) offer on-the-spot support and care for people dealing with the aftermath of natural or human-caused disasters. Now in its third year, CECT retains a strong network of best-in-class mental health professionals with the expertise and knowledge to support organizations and individuals preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and crises. Our team fosters individual and community resilience by training emotional care providers to collaborate with those affected, helping them build capacity and apply best practices. In the past year, CECT has provided over 295 hours of care to organizations and individuals dealing with crises. We’ve been on the ground, offering crisis support, technical assistance, and training to 25 different communities and organizations across nine states. By strengthening local, on-the-ground expertise, we can advance hope for long-term recovery from disasters and crises.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CECT has provided behavioral health support, training, and psychoeducation to:
- Communities recovering from natural or human-caused disasters
- Healthcare workers and hospital leadership
- Frontline responding government agencies
- Communities experiencing the ongoing emotional impact of COVID-19
- Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors
- Other non-profit organizations
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