MECC Empowers Children in Lebanon and Supports Them Psychologically and Morally
You can find some photos at the end of the text.
In light of conflicts and turmoil that the Middle East is witnessing, all walks of life are being influenced, as well as children are being affected the most. Therefore, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), through its various programs, continues to accompany and support children in order to help them overcome their daily challenges.
For this reason, the MECC Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, held a series of sessions aiming to improve the wellbeing and mental health of children, who had to deal with traumatic experiences. By teaching them how to manage their emotions effectively, psychologists help children acquire emotional regulation skills.
This is done by applying a structured program which makes use of various mental health topics and recreational activities which teaches them how to identify different emotions, understand what triggers them, understand different perspectives, and develop empathy towards others.
To make the program more effective, the psychotherapist also targeted caregivers, to help them identify and process their own traumatic experiences, so that not to pass on their own negative patterns to their children. As such, they are instructed on how to deal with their children in an effective manner through reinforcing the coping strategies at home, improving communication with their children, implementing effective methods to deal with them and modeling healthy emotional responses.
Noting that this program was implemented in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), at Our Lady Dispensary (OLD), affiliated with the MECC, in the Sabtieh region –Mount Lebanon. Of course, the selection criteria were set by the psychotherapist, who conducted interviews with the children and their caregivers and applied psychological tests and scales, to determine whether they are eligible to participate in this program.
