HELPING HANDS

Psychologists and therapists from the kingdom and around the world have joined forces to provide mental support for those shaken and still struggling with the repercussions of Lebanon’s tragic port blast in August 2020.

The explosion at a warehouse in Beirut had resulted in more than 215 deaths, 7,000 injuries and around $15 billion in property damage. It also left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

“Witnessing the fateful day on the news; myself and Dr Summer Fakhro felt this strong urge to help in any way we could,” said Luma Bashmi, a 37-year-old Bahraini who lived in Beirut while working on her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the American University of Beirut (AUB).

“Moving there at 17, Lebanon was my first experience of living abroad and had a big impact on developing my Arab identity.”

As they contacted their friends to check on their safety, it was clear to them that not one person was left unaffected.

“The theme emerging from all of the conversations we were having was that they might be fine physically, but emotionally they were not,” added Luma, a health psychologist, lecturer and researcher in the field of mental health. “Summer and I connected to see how we can work together to offer psychosocial support.”

Their network of people on the ground started to grow and they connected with Lisa Luxx for humanitarian work and partnered with Beit Insan, a mental health clinic in Beirut. They even began to offer free therapeutic support to NGO workers who were at risk of burnout and picked up clients who were on waiting lists of other mental health clinics to relieve the burden of health workers on the ground.

Luma, Summer and Lisa then founded Elaa Beirut with Michelle Dadachanji becoming one of the first therapists to join the team. Michelle is a board member as well.

Elaa Beirut was founded in August 2020 and was officially incorporated as a foundation in the Netherlands on February 2 this year. The not-for-profit international group made up of 30 licensed voluntary mental healthcare professionals provide free support online to those in need.

“We have provided more than 180 therapy and training sessions to more than 30 individuals and NGOs,” said Bahraini Summer, 33, based in Dubai. The Clinical Psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia Centre for Wellbeing visited Lebanon frequently during her childhood as her father studied at AUB.

“Areas of support include trauma and other stressors related to Covid-19, economic crisis, warfare, displacement and resettlement in Lebanon,” added Summer. “We have therapists and psychologists from Bahrain, the UK, the US, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Ireland, and other countries.”

They currently have 14 active, internationally licensed therapists based in 13 cities that speak English, Arabic, French, Portuguese and other languages.

“The aim is to provide relief, stress and coping skills, anger management, grief and trauma therapy for those in need,” said Michelle, a 33-year-old Pakistani-Canadian living in the UK who is Elaa’s clinical lead.

“Based on contact with organisations and individuals on the ground, many Lebanese families have been asking for psychological help for themselves, loved ones and their children in the wake of the ongoing trauma. The blast disproportionately impacted marginalised communities and these groups are already more vulnerable to depression, suicide, and other mental health difficulties.

“We are planning to expand our team and client base so we have the capacity to reach more people, particularly Arabic-speaking communities.

“We are also hoping to expand to other regions such as Palestine in the not-too-distant future.”

For details, follow @elaabeirut on Instagram.