Reaching Across Borders Inc

Results: We provide our services in the schools, camps, or settlements where the refugees or Internally Displaced People (IPD) live. We also bring groups of children, women, and men to our center for education sessions and for Psychosocial Support (PSS) Services, this helps to provide them respite from the camp environment.

Target demographics: Our goal at the Reaching Across Borders is to increase access to Mental Health and Psychological Support (MHPSS) services for vulnerable communities, such as refugees or IDPs; and to build individual and community resilience and economic empowerment among the communities we serve.

Geographic areas served: Our current MHPSS services are being provided in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, with Syrian and Palestinian Refugees and vulnerable Lebanese. The Bekaa Valley is in the East of Lebanon and borders to the West of Syria; it has the largest concentration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon; unofficial numbers are around 800,000.

Programs: Our Services Tele-psychiatry, MH consultation, and medication management. We do psychological assessments using the APA standardized and validated assessments tools as well as an intake assessment tools such as the Hopkins Symptom Checklist – 25 (HSCL-25) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), to assess trauma, anxiety, depression, and PTSD in patients. Based on the results, prioritize interventions. Individual therapy, including speech therapy and therapy with autistic children. We provide individual therapy, using a variety of intervention methodologies and techniques. When needed, we refer patients to our social workers for case management referrals. Regarding speech therapy, our psychologists will assess, diagnose and provide treatment using the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) scale. Psychosocial Support (PSS) programs: We will provide group-based PSS program. Our PSS programs target men, women, teenagers, and children. All programs have a pre-test and post-test to assess impact and to continuously improve our programs. Awareness/psycho-education sessions: Our psychologists and social workers provide awareness sessions on early marriage and gender-based violence (GBV). We also provide psycho-education sessions on relevant mental health topics. Case Management: Our social workers provide comprehensive case management services to ensure that our beneficiaries are accessing the services available to them. We are committed to navigate the barriers our beneficiaries face when seeking services outside of our Center. Economic Empowerment: During our individual therapy, tele-psychiatry, and awareness sessions, identify women who meet the criteria for our economic empowerment vision. We work with these women to identify the appropriate vocational training program for them. We help them enroll in the program of their choice, provide material support and motivation throughout the program, and post-training we support them to achieve economic empowerment.