CONSULTANCY - TRAUMA INFORMED CONSENT BASED MASSAGE THERAPY AND MINDFULNESS PRACTICES - ReliefWeb

[massage]

Purpose of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to design and facilitate a five‐day trauma informed consent based massage therapy and mindfulness practices training exercise from 26th to 30th October 2020 at Kakuma Refugee Camp. The purpose of the training is to create and share an understanding of the correlation between massage therapy as a mindfulness practice, and trauma. Mindfulness practices have shown incredible benefits as they enhance present-moment awareness, increase our self-compassion, and enhance our ability to self-regulate. However, these practices can also generate problems for people struggling with traumatic stress by inviting them into contact with traumatic stimuli— thoughts, images, memories, and physical sensations that may relate to a traumatic experience (Treleaven, 2018).

This training is intended to bring about a realization of the widespread impact of trauma, a recognition of the signs and symptoms of trauma in our beneficiaries as they participate in massage and mindfulness practices and an understanding of our response in integration of knowledge about trauma into JRS policies and procedures. Further, new mindfulness tools such as breath work will be offered to the trauma workers in the training. This is aimed at actively resisting re-traumatization of the beneficiaries while they receive massage therapy or when engaged in mindfulness practices and increased effectiveness of complementary therapy practices.

2. Background

Jesuit Refugee Service is an international Catholic organization with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future. JRS Kenya has a project in Kakuma refugee camp which is located in Turkana county in the north west of Kenya. The county borders South Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. Turkana county is mainly inhabited by the Turkana people whose primary economic activity is pastoralism. Kakuma refugee camp hosts refugees from South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia and the great lakes regions and as at 31st August 2020, the population was at 197,133[1]

JRS has worked with refugees in Kakuma since 1993 focusing its approach in empowering the communities. Guided by the mission to accompany, serve and advocate, JRS serves the most vulnerable groups which include persons living with disabilities, persons in distress and with mental health and psychosocial problems and persons with severe protection risks. JRS also empowers the community through providing access to professional post-secondary education.

JRS has served as a focal agency on matters of psychosocial support guided by the IASC MHPSS intervention pyramid, implementing a unique community-based approach to improving the psychosocial wellbeing of refugees they serve. JRS has, in the last years utilized complementary healing which includes massage therapy to support the impact of counselling on those experiencing mental health and psychosocial problems. There has been an increasing evidence supporting mind-body connection in the improvement of wellbeing.

Through lessons learned over time and the experience gained while undertaking PSS in the last years, JRS wishes to scale and tweak its approach in preventing and responding to mental health challenges in the refugee and host community in Kakuma and Kalobeyei settlement so as to increase reach while aligning to new and evidence based approaches to trauma.

C. Scope of work and target dates:

The consultant will be expected to:

1. 
   Design and facilitate a five-day (5 days) trauma informed consent based massage therapy and mindfulness practices training exercise for approximately 43 participants on 26th to 30th October 2020.
   
   
2. 
   Through the trauma informed consent based massage therapy and mindfulness practices training exercise, provide participants with:
   
   
3. 
   An understanding of the body and mind in trauma and mindfulness
   
   
4. 
   An understanding of the principle of ‘Do No Harm’ in providing massage therapy
   
   
5. 
   An understanding of how to effectively establish a sense of safety for the client
   
   
6. 
   Guidance on practicing relational mindfulness for emotional safety
   
   
7. 
   An understanding and awareness of intersectionality; oppressive forces that promote a lack of safety
   
   
8. 
   An understanding of the Window of Tolerance and staying within the window of tolerance while offering service
   
   
9. 
   An understanding of the shift attention to support stability principle
   
   
10. 
    An understanding and guidance on working with dissociation
    

1. Deliverables

a. Consultant’s responsibility

The consultant will be responsible for compiling the work done by him/her. The consultant will ensure the completion of the following deliverables:

I. Inception Report, training outline and plan

II. Well organized training materials, the materials should include Trainer’s facilitation guide; Exercises, training notes).

III. Deliver the training at a venue in Kakuma for a period of no less than 5 days.

IV. Updates indicating progress of the training and any shortcomings if any to the supervisor.

V. Prepare a report on the training with an evaluation and lessons learnt for future interventions

VI. Present the training report to JRS in soft and hard copies.

b. Jesuit Refugee Services

JRS will ensure the following:

I. Provide transportation from Nairobi to Kakuma and accommodation. During the consultancy JRS will provide all the necessary orientation and background information of the area of operation.

II. The working space; including other office support facilities / services (i.e. photocopying, printing and Power point presentation facilities while in Kakuma and at field level will be provided as much as possible.

c. Timeframe: The assignment will be conducted over a duration of 5 days from 23rd November to 27th November, 2020.

D. Required competencies:

The consultant should have:

I. Previous 5 years’ experience in trauma training and/or interventions

II. Extensive experience and training in providing mindfulness practices to individuals and groups

III. Excellent English communication, writing and analytical skills;

IV. Fluent in spoken and written English and Kiswahili languages

Proposals should include:

I. Detailed description of proposed approach and methodology

II. Projected budget – including projected travel and in-country accommodation and subsistence costs if applicable.

III. Short overview of how the candidate (s) meets the qualifications, experience and skills requirements

In order to achieve the objectives of the assignment, the consultant will be expected to take complete responsibility for all the activities identified in the TOR. The Technical Proposal should contain a complete description and explanation of the proposed methodology for the Assignment, timelines and any other resources that the consultant will make available to effectively execute the assignment.

The Financial Proposal should stipulate the professional fees, travel, taxes, etc. for the assignment.

All fees and costs are to be expressed in Kenya Shillings.

[1] https://www.unhcr.org/ke/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Kenya-Infogr...