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Exit Interviews/Support Techniques
Online Resources | Print Resources
Humanitarian work is incredibly rewarding, but it can also be incredibly tough. It is an occupation involving exposure to a wide variety of possible stressors, which can include experiencing or witnessing violence and its after-effects; evacuations; living with social, cultural, and/or spiritual dislocation; exposure to health hazards; witnessing poverty, deprivation, and suffering; survivor guilt; and facing moral dilemmas about how and who to help.
The resources in this section were selected to inform managers and mental health professionals seeking to support humanitarian staff who are dealing with these types of challenges and traumatic experiences. There are a number of different support techniques that aim to create a safe, supportive environment to enable staff to feel free to discuss their experiences, how they are coping, and what might help as they continue to process the impact of their experiences. The cultural context and specific experiences of the impacted staff will play a large role in determining which particular techniques will be most appropriate and helpful.
Two of the most common support techniques are debriefing and exit interviewing. Psychological debriefing was designed to prepare individuals for the challenges that they may face after witnessing or experiencing traumatic events. Although it is the most common form of post-traumatic early intervention (at least in the West), debriefing remains so controversial that the following caveat is needed: managers and mental health professionals are cautioned not to assume that trauma counseling is needed after a critical incident, and should take cultural context into consideration and ascertain whether a ritual or some other support technique might not be more appropriate and effective. Exit Interviewing generally aims to provide an opportunity to process the professional (and sometimes personal) impact of the assignment, collate lessons learned, and identify next steps.
As a manager or mental health professional working amid humanitarian crises, you must be prepared to support your staff with the psychosocial issues that arise. These resources and techniques will help you do that.
Online Resources
Effective Debriefing, People in Aid
This information sheet from People in Aid does a great job at explaining the debriefing process, the reasons for it, and some ways to do it well. For quick reference, the information sheet also includes a 10-step guideline for routine debriefing.
Bringing your debriefers home after a disaster: Debriefing the debriefers, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation
This article offers a structured approach to debriefing that may help reduce the effects of a disaster on team members.
Taking Care of Yourself, APS Healthcare
It's important for you to support your staff in taking care of their health, not only during critical events, but every day during their tenure. In addition, it's important to help offer them ways of taking care of themselves upon re-entry. This document offers a guide to simple ways of caring for one's physical and mental health; how to recognize normal symptoms of critical incident stress; and ways to decompress once the assignment is complete.
Aid Workers Network
This is a comprehensive website, featuring a forum involves several different strings of topics. Some highlights are career advice, region-specific conversations, and an opportunity to share a bit of humor.
Providing Psychosocial and Spiritual Support, Headington Institute
This article explores providing psychosocial/spiritual support during three stages: screening/predeployment, in the field, and upon return.
Global Humanitarian Studies Index
The Global Humanitarian Studies Index, put together by Columbia University, links over a hundred institutions around the world which provide training and research on humanitarian topics from emergency relief management to medicine to de-mining. The Index works like a database with institution links categorized by location, network, degree, and also lists on-line self-training.
Print Resources
The Humanitarian Companion, Chapter 6.
This book should be used as a reference for a wide variety of issues encountered in the field, but for information focused particularly on re-entry, turn to Chapter 6, which contains a discussion on exit interviews.
Ehrenreich, J. (2004). The Humanitarian Companion. London: ITDG Publishing, Ch. 6
All photos © Karl Grobl
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