Tacloban City, Leyte – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to conduct Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) to victims of Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas.

A team of social workers were deployed to visit various evacuation centers to conduct CISD to affected individuals, especially to women and children.

As of December 9, the stress debriefers have served 384 women and children in different evacuations centers in this city alone.

The CISD is a process that prevents or limits the development of post-traumatic stress in people exposed to critical incidents. Professionally conducted debriefings help survivors cope with, and recover from the after effects of a calamity.

Participants are asked to share their experiences and the social workers assess their level of recovery and their needed interventions.

In support to this, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have offered to refurbish a pension house in the city that can be used as a venue for stress debriefing and provide distraught women and children a resting facility during their recovery period.

“As of the moment, we are still in the process of identifying a  potential pension house which we can use. We are thankful for the support of UNICEF and UNFPA as providing an ideal place where stress debriefing can be conducted is very critical in ensuring that the victims would overcome their trauma,” DSWD Assistant Secretary Vilma Cabrera, who currently heads the disaster relief operations in Eastern Visayas, said. ###