FUNCOP-funded project to strengthen professionals working with victims of gender-based violence in Honduras comes to an end

 

It has been a year since the ETEA Foundation – Instituto de Desarrollo de la Universidad Loyola Andalucía launched the project ‘Contributing to the improvement of care services for victims of gender violence in Santa Rosa de Copán (Honduras)‘, supported with funding from the Foundation for the Training and Practice of Psychology – FUNCOP.

The initiative culminated in the training of more than fifty psychologists, social workers and justice operators from different institutions in Santa Rosa de Copán that serve victims of gender violence. One of the main results of the intervention has been the formation of the first self-support group of psychologists in western Honduras to promote self-care and awareness in the work of care and prevention of gender violence.

This work was coordinated with the Psychology Department of Loyola University.

The project took the form of four courses given by Loyola University Psychology Department professors Marco Gemignani, María Pilar Aguilar Barriga and Gemma Sáez Díaz.

Among the themes of the workshops have been addressed: ‘the methodology of group work‘ (21-25 January 2019), with the aim of expanding their approach techniques in different groups of women whom they serve from their work area; the technique of ‘Burnout-Emotional Regulation‘ (4-8 February 2019), aimed at generating awareness of the importance of self-care and the implementation of techniques to regulate emotions; ‘detection and care in gender violence‘ (June 24-26 2019), a course aimed at reflecting on the different situations of gender violence that occur in Honduras in order to provide care with empathy, quality and warmth to victims who come to these institutions in search of support; and finally, ‘therapeutic and supervision groups‘ (June 27-28 and July 1 2019), a workshop focused on strengthening capacities for the implementation of new methodologies to address this type of victims, in turn raising awareness about self-care as professionals in the area of mental health.

FUNCOP and Casa Hogar, key partners

The Foundation of the Official College of Psychology of Western Andalusia for Training and Practice of Psychology (FUNCOP) has made a commitment to put psychology at the service of people living in unfavorable situations in developing countries and contribute to give visibility to this reality and raise awareness for change.

The Casa Hogar Santa Rosa de Copán Foundation, a consolidated partner of the ETEA Foundation in the Honduran region, is a space for professional multidisciplinary care for the safety of women, and their children, affected by gender violence so that they can regain their autonomy and a life plan free of abuse.