Upon the Palestinian National Anthem & a minute of silence in memory of the spirit of the Palestinian martyrs, the first session was launched with a welcoming by Mr. Nader Abu Amsha, Director of the East Jerusalem YMCA Rehabilitation Program. Then, the Secretary General of the East Jerusalem YMCA, Mr. Andre Batarseh, welcomed the participants and assured that this conference coincides with the approaches of the East Jerusalem YMCA in maintaining the professional performance and rendering quality services to Palestinian people since the establishment of the East Jerusalem YMCA in 1948. In his speech, the Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Dr. Anan Al-Masri, who represented the Minister of Health, pointed out to the specificity of the Palestinian context & the importance of increasing the concern in mental health, wherein he expressed his high appreciation to the efforts of the East Jerusalem YMCA in terms of its harmony with the Palestinian National Plan in facing the challenges that face our people in this aspect.

The conference sessions were launched at 10:00 a.m., wherein the two keynote speakers Dr. Michael Wesselles, & Dr. Cairo Arafat presented two rich papers in connection with the objectives and mission of the conference. It is worth mentioning that Dr. Michael Wesselles, Prof. in Columbia University, is considered one of the most prominent international experts working in the sphere of mental health and psychosocial support wherein he presented a paper entitled “Ethical Issues in Trauma Counseling in Humanitarian Crises Worldwide”. This was followed by the paper of Dr. Cairo Arafat, Head of Planning Department for Child’s Rights at the Palestinian Ministry of Planning, under the title “Towards an integrated mental health and psychosocial policy within the occupied Palestinian Territories”.

Then, with the participation of twenty specialists in mental health in Gaza Strip, through video conference, the papers were discussed.

After the break, Ms. Nabila Dakkak moderated the second session in which the following four papers were presented and discussed:

1. “The impact of the Israeli Military Checkpoints on Mental Health Workers in occupied West Bank” by Mr. Nader Abu Amsha.
2. “Mental Health Workers- Palestinian Experience” by Ms. Laila Atshan.
3. “Aspects of resilience and traumatic falls in mental health workers in context of military violence” by Dr. Guido Veronese.
4. “Counseling:  Implications for mental health professionals” by Ms. Dana Isawi.

During the third session that was moderated by Mrs. Ferdos Al-Issa, three papers were presented as follows, of which the first two were transmitted through a video conference from Gaza:

1. “Trauma Experience and its relation to Children’s Anxiety towards Future” by Dr. Samir Quota.
2. “Challenges that face social workers in the field” by Mr. Hishan Abu Rabee’.
3. “Collective Trauma in the Palestinian Context” by Dr. Bassam Marshoud.

 Upon discussing the papers, Mr. Nader Abu Amsha, expressed his thanks to the participants, the presenters of the papers and the working team for contributing to making the first day of the conference a success.

The conference will proceed tomorrow (Tuesday, November 24^th, 2009) at 9:00 a.m. as planned.

تم بنجاح افتتاح المؤتمر الدولي تحت عنوان" التحديات في مواجهة الصدمات النفسية في مناطق النزاعات"، حيث ابتدأت الجلسة الأولى بترحيب من السيد نادر أبو عمشا مدير جمعية الشبان المسيحية القدس – برنامج تلاه وقفة دقيقة صمت وحداد على أرواح شهداء فلسطين، وبحضور مميز لممثلين عن المؤسسات العاملة في مجال الصحة النفسية والخدمة الاجتماعية والإرشاد، والعديد من الأكاديميين وممثلي المؤسسات التعليمية في فلسطين، حيث بلغ الحضور ما يربو على 280 مشاركًا.