Centre to help stressed journalists
FEW RECEIVE HELP DESPITE IMMERSION IN EXTREME VIOLENCE
Death threats, bombings and getting attacked is part of the job for many Pakistani journalists but they say one of the biggest barriers to seeking counselling to help cope is the stigma that they need it — and others in the business talking about it.
The nation is plagued by a Taliban insurgency, deadly criminal gangs, extra- judicial executions and rising sectarian killings.
Immersion in the extreme violence and daily threats mean many Pakistani journalists suffer from post- traumatic stress disorder, health professionals said this week during the opening of the country’s first trauma centre for journalists.
The centre is supposed to help address Pakistan’s massive shortfall of trained counsellors and help journalists deal with the psychological fallout of reporting bombings, militancy and drone strikes.
Many of the problems that plague journalists also trouble front line security forces, bomb technicians and civilians. Few receive help — Pakistan has only 450 practising clinical psychologists for 180 million citizens, industry professionals said.
But many journalists say the fear of exposure by cut- throat colleagues keeps those in the industry from seeking help. The competition for jobs is intense, and the country’s largest journalist union is split into feuding factions.
That’s why the new Ger- man- funded Competence and Trauma Centre for Journalists nestled amid the rose gardens and brick university buildings in the northwestern provincial capital of Peshawar, says it keeps patient confidentiality absolute.
Dr Erum Irshad, head of the university’s psychology department, said that 14 of 20 journalists who participated in a pilot study suffered from severe stress. No larger studies exist. Seven journalists had already sought help, she said.
“This is a very neglected field,” said Professor Syed Haroon Ahmad, head of the Pakistan Association for Mental Health.
“People are not dying, so it is not a priority.”