International services:
Care for humanitarians & change makers
You provide critical support for communities and ecosystems across the globe. Your wellbeing matters. Realizing this is the first step toward sustaining yourself personally and professionally and being able to ethically effect change. With firsthand experience as an international humanitarian aid worker, our therapist John Drollinger, LICSW, can help you navigate the specific challenges of humanitarian aid, human rights, diplomacy, peacebuilding, environmental justice, conservation, disaster response, "development" and related fields.
Witnessing human, communal and ecological suffering and loss takes a toll. Existential crises, traumatic events, relationship challenges, chronic stress, overwhelm, cynicism, burn out, compassion fatigue and grief are commonplace in this work. At times, you may feel disconnected from your purpose and your values. Psychotherapy can help. Our services attend to the ways in which your history, identities and positionality—e.g., gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, race/ethnicity, age, class—impact your experiences, your relationships, your work, your safety and overall wellbeing. Together, we can bolster your resilience and help you stay connected to yourself, others and your work.
Services are offered virtually via a secure video platform and are only available in English. Contact us if you need a referral to an Arabic-speaking provider. Some geographic limitations apply.
Pre-departure preparation & job transitions
Preparing for stressful situations can help mitigate the effects of challenging work and living conditions. If you are new to the sector, we can help equip you with the tools you need to thrive before your journey starts. For those transitioning to a new job or country, we can help you leave behind what is not serving you and set yourself up for this new beginning with intention.
Post-incident support
Traumatic events are too commonly experienced by humanitarians and other change makers. This may be something you have experienced yourself or witnessed in others, including exposure to gunfire, abuse, physical or sexual violence, harassment, threats, burglary, detention, car accidents, natural disasters, distressing images & stories, life-threatening illnesses and loss of colleagues. We can help you move through and process these experiences so you can heal.
Longer-term support
Your work often means exposure to multiple, prolonged and ongoing stressors that can contribute to burn out. Navigating existential crises, as well as ethical dilemmas and power dynamics inherent in your work, can be challenging. And the scale of the global problems can make you think you are not doing enough. Compounding all this are any pre-existing struggles or mental health concerns you face outside of work, including relationships with family and friends. Therapy can help you explore and address these issues, reconnect with your innate resilience & wisdom and stay connected to who & what matters most.
Returning home
Transitioning to temporary or permanent life outside of humanitarian work can bring its own challenges, including identity struggles (such as asking "Who am I now?" or "Who am I outside of this work?"), feeling disconnected or isolated from others, difficulty deciding what's next and how to move forward, feeling helpless as you watch other crises unfold and more. It is possible to chart a meaningful and value-led path forward in your life. We can help you integrate your past experiences, better understand yourself and feel more connected with others.