NGO #14796

Palestine Trauma Centre for Victims’ Welfare (PTC) is considered to be the first of its kind in Palestine and the Arab world. PTC was established in January 2007 as a charitable institution (non-governmental / non-profitable), which aimed mainly to provide psychological, social and specialized medical services for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who have suffered and continue to suffer from the blockade imposed by Israel and the recent bombardments in 2008-9 and 2012. PTC provides free care services in four key areas: Prevention, Counselling, Rehabilitation and Therapy. It is located in Gaza City and opened in April 2007 after compiling an extensive three year study on the chronic effects of trauma on the Palestinian community in the Gaza Strip. This study found that approximately 700,000 Palestinians (children and adults) urgently needed psychological, social and medical help. Children were suffering from severe psychological, social and behavioural disorders as a result of constant exposure to the traumas produced by the ongoing war, occupation and blockade. PTC has a community approach to mental health and aims to strengthen the power of each family to deal with trauma by helping them to develop co-operative ways of behaving and thinking. If they believe themselves to be active members of society, aware of their collective history and the cause which unites them, this acts as a form of basic therapy around which they can begin to rebuild their lives. PTC also provides specific therapeutic services for different kinds of trauma. It works within families and equips them to develop strategies for coping with stress, shock and other on-going factors that disturb their everyday lives in this region. PTC combines psychological therapy with social support to create a protection against future traumas and to help unify a fragmented society.