Volunteers are being sought to assist with research into trauma and its after-effects which is being conducted by a team in St Patrick's Hospital, Dublin. The results will form the basis of a self-help guide aimed at Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sufferers and their families. Research into a wide variety of traumatic events needs to be undertaken with participation from those currently suffering from the disorder as well as those who have recovered, with or without professional help. The main criteria for PTSD is that the person has experienced a traumatic event or events where their response has been one of intense fear, helplessness or horror. The sufferer may persistently re-experience the traumatic event, possibly in the form of dreams, relive it and have psychological or physical reactions to similar events; may avoid stimuli associated with the event and have a marked deterioration in general responsiveness.
These symptoms should have lasted for at least one month and, because more distant memories can sometimes be unclear, the researchers are looking for volunteers who have experienced the traumatic event or PTSD itself since January 1991. With this in mind volunteers willing to be interviewed in confidence are asked to write to the Trauma Research Project, St Patrick's Hospital, James's Street, Dublin 8.
The Simon Community urgently requires full-time volunteers aged 18 to 35 years to work with homeless people in its projects in Cork, Dublin and Galway. The work is challenging and extremely rewarding and is excellent experience for anyone considering a career in the social or care work fields. Volunteers receive a weekly allowance and live in the community for at least three months. Further information and an application form is available from Anne O'Donovan, Simon Community, St Andrew's House, 28-30 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2. 01-6711606 (tel); 016711098; Email simonnat@indigo.ie
The Threshold Foundation, a voluntary organisation which serves the areas of Clondalkin, Tallaght, Ballyfermot, West Dublin and Kilkare, helps both employed and unemployed people who have experienced mental health problems to become more active in the community and the workplace. The training programmes are primarily employment-related, covering areas such as career guidance and development, the world of work, CV and interview preparation, as well as group work in the area of personal development. There will be an open day tomorrow from 11 a.m. to introduce the foundation's new Horizon Training Programme "Lets Get it Together", organised in conjunction with the Clondalkin Partnership, the Local Employment Service and the Mental Health Centre. The training programme will take place in Fonthill House, Clondalkin, Dublin three days per week over a 20-week period beginning in June. A training allowance will be provided. Further information on this or other services from, tel: 01-4641393/ 014641393.