A grant awarded to the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at the State University of New York at New Paltz will help a program in the Middle East.
The about $93,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development will help Disaster Mental Health Institute personnel administer a train-the-trainer program in psychological first aid for Palestinian and Israeli professionals. Institute Director Dr. James Halpern says the goal of the initiative is to equip Palestinians and Israelis not only for how to deliver psychological first aid, but how to train others in their communities so they will be equipped to help their neighbors in times of stress, and be less likely to resort to violence. The grant is the second for the Institute, in support of the Mitigating Conflict via Early Mental Health Interventions program. Last year’s grant helped institute personnel work with partners in the Middle East to develop materials addressing the short-term mental health needs.