COLLEAGUES IN DISTRESS - HELPING THE HELPERS

When mental health professionals themselves become victims of trauma, especially secondary to a war situation, it becomes the ultimate test for fellow professionals. Now they are put into the position of suppor ting and helping those who provide assistance to others. It brings to the surface one's own uncertainties, fears and vulnerabilities; after all, we are all human. This paper describes the mobilization of such e fforts on the pan of the professionals helping other professionals in the mental health field who under normal circumstances would be one's colleagues, hence the notion 'helping the helpers'. The following is a description of one such effort where mental health professionals, the mselves feeling overwhelmed traumatized and victimized, welcomed the a ssistance of other mental health professionals from a different countr y with different religious, ethnic and cultural issues.