What do we offer?

Psychologists Across Borders offer psychosocial debriefings in groups for volunteer aid workers. We also offer individual sessions if needed. 

The debriefing sessions can be conducted either online or in person and are usually carried out over the course of two days. We offer debriefings in English, Danish and Norwegian. 

The purpose of the psychosocial debriefing is to process the experiences that are part of being sent out as an aid worker, and to have this process witnessed by the group. The risk of experiencing anxiety, loneliness and prolonged stress symptoms is elevated by having participated in aid work. With the groups, we want to create the communities and spaces for dialogue that can lead to the experiences being expressed and transformed into a meaningful and manageable narrative.

Psychologists Across Borders also work to gather and disseminate knowledge about the difficulties of processing impressions after participating in aid work. This knowledge must benefit the aid workers during and after their engagement. We also wish to point out the challenges that we all have in being able to understand the refugees’ situation, while simultaneously living our own lives. 

Psychologists Across Borders wants to help make us all better able to cope with the extreme situation that refugees can find themselves in, without being forced into debate on refugee politics. We believe that we all want the best for people affected by war. Through dialogue and knowledge, we wish to discuss how we can act with compassion when faced directly or indirectly with the reality of war and crisis. 

Who are we?

Psychologists Across Borders is a volunteer organization where psychologists offer psychosocial debriefings in groups for volunteers who have been involved in aid work. Psychologists Across Borders was established in 2015 by Psychologist Jane Maul after a stay on Lesbos, where Jane received refugees and saw what it did to the volunteer aid workers to be so close to traumatized and displaced people. 

The association is governed by a board of directors, which is elected at the annual general meeting. 

From September 2018, the following members of the Board of Directors are:

Chairman Liv Starheim, 

liv.starheim@live.dk

Deputy Chairman Tobias Tang Møllehave

Head of Communications Ella De Figueiredo Lykke

elladelykke@gmail.com

The network of Psychologists across Borders consists of psychologists and psychology students at the end of their studies.