Marawi evacuees get psycho-social aid from USC team

The Psychology Department of the University of San Carlos (USC) provided psycho-social services to evacuees from war-torn Marawi City housed in Cagayan de Oro City to help the government in its rebuilding efforts.

The 15-member USC Psychology team composed of faculty members and graduate students administered psychological first aid to evacuees who have been housed at the Cagayan de Oro National High School.

Led by department chairman Dr. Glenn Glarino, the USC team also provided training on how to conduct psycho-social support to the teachers of the school.

Some 90 evacuees, mostly high school students and their parents, became beneficiaries of the psychological first aid, an integral approach to helping victims of crises.

Psycho-social services, such as psychological first aid, are needed to appease the negative and potentially traumatizing experiences, said Glarino.

Such experiences could possibly affect the development of the well-being and future growth of victims of tragedies such as wars, he added.

The Marawi seige started in May this year when an armed group called Maute pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, attacked the city and tried to set up a stronghold.

The siege, which lasted for five months, resulted in the death of almost a thousand from the armed group side and hundreds from the government side, and forced the evacuation of thousands of civilians.

There were also civilians who reportedly died during the siege, including evacuees who died from illnesses while at evacuation areas.