Peer-to-Peer Support beyond Borders: A Virtual Coffee Break
摘要
Stress, burnout, and professional impairment are prevalent among mental health professionals and can negatively impact their clinical work, health, and overall well-being. Engaging in self-care practices has been recognized as a critical factor in mitigating these risks and fostering resilience among therapists. Refugee and migrant mental health professionals encounter additional and distinct challenges, as they often occupy dual roles that involve managing personal experiences of displacement while simultaneously carrying professional responsibilities for trauma-focused care and recovery. In response to the outbreak of war in Sudan in 2023, many mental health professionals were forcibly displaced and became refugees in neighboring countries, while continuing to provide counseling and trauma-focused care to support affected communities. This dual burden of personal displacement and ongoing professional responsibility created significant additional stress, prompting the initiation of a peer-to-peer volunteer support initiative, A series of virtual peer-support meetings facilitated collaboration between Norwegian mental health professionals and former colleagues and students from Ahfad University for Women. This initiative provided an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of peer-to-peer support in resilience-building across national boundaries. This chapter examines the role of self-care as a protective factor for mental health professionals, particularly those working in refugee contexts, and discusses the broader implications of structured peer-support models in enhancing practitioner well-being and professional sustainability. The discussion highlights how culturally relevant self-care strategies, supervision, and institutional support can mitigate burnout and foster long-term resilience in the field of refugee mental health care.