On March 9, 2009, Mr. Husam El-Nounou and Mr. Hassan Ziada, of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme addressed members of Code Pink in Gaza City. They discussed the psychological effects of the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, both on the general population, and on youth in particular. They also spoke to the need for Israelis to address their own psychological wounds as part of the path to peace.
The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organization established in 1990 to provide comprehensive community mental health services – therapy, training and research – to the population of the Gaza Strip.
Since that time, the Gaza Strip – one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with two thirds of the population being refugees and 50% being younger than 16 years – has witnessed extreme forms of violence and suffering, due to Israeli occupation and military operations. This made the extent of mental health problems in the Gaza reach unprecedented levels. To find further information, please link:
http://www.gcmhp.net/File_files/Crisis Intervention
Today, after 15 years, GCMHP remains the leading organization in Palestine in providing psycho-social programs, adopting a comprehensive, community based approach for working with children, women, and victims of human rights violations.
