EFPA Standing Committee on Crisis, Disaster, and Trauma Psychology Symposium in Athens: "Disasters: psychosocial support, challenges and ethics"

The European Symposium on "Disasters: psychosocial support, challenges and ethics", co-organised by the Association of Greek Psychologists and the Standing Committee on Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology of the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations - EFPA, was hosted on Friday 11 October 2024 in Athens, Greece, from 09:30 a.m. to 14:30 p.m. 

The Symposium was held under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Health and at the opening of the Symposium a welcome address was read from the Greek Deputy Minister for Development, Mrs. Zoe Rapti.

The Symposium was co-chaired by Bessy Karagianni, Greek representative EFPA for the SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology and Magda Rooze, Convenor of the SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology.

The programme included contributions from 8 countries (Greece, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Spain, Cyprus, and Turkey);

More than 300 participants, most of them psychologist attended the hybrid event. 

Presenters and topics:

• Zafeiria Kollia –Greece, Association of Greek Psychologists

“The psychosocial dimension in Civil Protection”

• Caterina Arcidiacono – Italy, Liaison EFPA for SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

“Domestic violence and secondary social and institutional victimization”

• Árpád Sebestyén PhD – Hungary, representative SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

“Isn't human trafficking and abuse a disaster? - Psychological crisis management in Hungary in 2023-24”

• Štěpán Vymětal PhD – Czech Republic, representative SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

“Psychosocial support during disasters - experiences and best practices from the Czech Republic”

• Andromachie Giannakopoulou – Greece, Association of Greek Psychologists

“The European Project Erasmus+. Psychological Early Intervention: Clinical Training (Psych.E.In.)”

• Sandra Lettner – Austria, representative SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

“The crisis as an opportunity: successful implementation of projects for the nationwide coordinated use of psychological treatment for vulnerable persons”

• Anna Romeu – Spain, representative SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

"Dealing with ethical issues in the context of an emergency"

• Dr. Anthi Loutsiou – Cyprus, representative SC Crisis, Disaster and Trauma Psychology

“Pathways To Psychological Resilience Among Fire and Rescue Officers: Perspectives from Cyprus"

• Selin Tekin – Turkey, Lecturer in Social Psychology, University of Karabük Turkey, University of New York Tirana.

“Facilitating Post-Disaster Psychosocial Support Process with Socioecological Approach and Social Identity Approach”

• Vasiliki Koumantaki – Greece, Association of Greek Psychologists.

“The post Covid Era - challenges and interventions”.