By Rodgers Omondi, Busia
David Bulimo, clinical Psychologist from Busia county has raised concerns on the psychological well-being of media practitioners in the county due to the nature of their work.
Speaking during the training of media practitioners from the county on mental and psychological well-being, under the safe voices 040 project organized by Dhamira Moja CBO in partnership with Trust Lab , Bulimo said many journalists suffer from trauma they get while on duty.
“These people cover more traumatic stories and many times we only think about taking them to hospital other than the traumas the story leaves in their lives. That’s why the media people need physiological care to refresh as they continue with their work. This provides them with an opportunity to share, express themselves on what they are going through as a process of healing.” He said
He further said failure in psychological care among the journalists, results in many challenges that they experience.
“When covering a traumatic story, that trauma is transferred to them. They come out with acute stress and if not helped, they will transition from Acute Stress Disorder(ASD) to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). Many of them are secretly suffering from that condition because of trauma they face while on duty. Because nobody is ready to attend to them, they slowly live with fear and memory of what they have seen.” He said.
He named the nature of the journalist work as a predisposing factor that brings them into having the mental disorders conditions.
“They go to places where even people fear and possess dangers and they automatically react; this brings stress and other mental disorders. The threats they encounter while covering some stories are real and this creates a permanent fear, anxiety and worry which affects them psychologically.
Dhamira Moja executive director Sarah Martha said the safe voices 040 project which is sponsored by the European Union is determined to ensure media practitioners in the county have been trained and well equipped with knowledge that will ensure their safety.
“For the last 5 months we have been having training offering psycho-social support to journalists and we are happy that they have now started to open up. They are now understanding that though they undergo challenges in terms of cyber security and digital threats, there are solutions to these challenges.” She said
The director added that they are facilitating the process that gives journalists an opportunity to express themselves and learn from each other.
“We are doing a debrief for them, to share experience from each other and to learn on how other journalists are coping with their mental issues. We know it never easy mentally for them while on duty” she said
Busia county government communication deputy director, Okong’o Oduya said the journalists are always vulnerable on mental issues as they are left on their own despite playing a vital role in the community.
“These are the first witnesses in an event of a tragedy but they are not considered for mental assistance. Training them on their mental well being is helping them to have a good relationship with their family, work and colleagues.” he said
Patrick Ojanji, Manager Bulala FM said journalists are not given an opportunity to be trained and counselled on their well-being.
“We have seen an increased trend of people taking on their own life, as a journalist who has been covering those stories, I am always left with depression and other mental problems. When people are selected to undertake training on psychological issues, journalists are selected to cover not to be trained. There is a need for more training for everyone in this industry.” he said
