I.P.A. SEMINAR – TRAUMA AND STRESS

2010-10-04 TO 2010-10-08

The International Police Association (IPA) seminars at Gimborn Castle (Schloss) are a wonderful holistic development opportunity. Each year various topics are presented.

I am working for the South African Police Service (SAPS), in the Employee Health and Wellness Section, as a Social Worker. I have been a member of the IPA since 2001. I applied for the Arthur Troop Scholarship in 2009 and was delighted to be informed that my application has been successful. The Scholarship funds were utilized to purchase a flight ticket to Germany, accommodation and Seminar fees.

I decided to attend the seminar on “Trauma and Stress” – How to cope with extreme experiences with special reference to policing.

I arrived at Gimborn Castle on Sunday evening, 3 October 2010, and was welcomed by a group of jolly people in the Castle pub. After a quick drink and brief introductions I retired to my room on the fourth floor of the Castle.

The seminar officially started on 4 October and we were welcomed by the Director of Gimborn, Mr Klaus-Ulrich Nieder. A very interesting presentation on the history of the Castle and the IPA training facility eased us into the week of training. We were also introduced to Dr. Peter Lessmann-Faust, the Deputy Director of Gimborn. Dr. Peter was extremely helpful and assisted with all enquiries and requests.

The seminar was chaired by Stephen Crockard from Northern Ireland. During the afternoon we were working in small groups, getting to know each other, his/her country and specific challenges in the working environments.

Day 2 of the seminar was kicked-off by a dynamic speaker, Paul Ruffalo, Commander of the Naperville, Illinois Police Service in Chicago. The discussion focused on the stressors in the training phase and in the early police career – stress in dealing with traumatic incidents.

The afternoon consisted of a very calm, collected and insightful seminar discussion on: “What can I talk to a priest about?” A reflection on the existential questions that life and work bring us as police officers.

Day 3 Juha Jarvelin, Chief Inspector from the Etela-pohjanmaan Police Service in Finland presented a lecture on the Kauhajoki case (School shooting) – trauma and stress by a criminal act. The afternoon’s discussion focused on Traumatized policing – traumatized police officers – traumatised victims of police work. Sean Hannigan a Sergeant from Leicestershire (United Kingdom) led this discussion.

Day 4: the seminar on Trauma and stress – how to cope with extreme experiences – with special reference to policing left me a bit traumatized, but the necessary skills for coping with these feelings and trauma visions were provided. The group discussions in the afternoon supported the morning’s learned skills and provided an opportunity to converse how to implement to skills in our working environments.

Day 5 provided an opportunity to discuss the group results, evaluate the seminar and say goodbye to new friends.

This seminar not only provided a wonderful learning opportunity, but also enabled me to meet people from across the world. The attendees included emergency service officers and other professional people working within the Employee Wellness arena. The evenings were spent attending cultural events, presented by different countries. We were introduced to new cultures, new languages, new folk games, interesting drinks and food and just a great “mingling” opportunity.

I am extremely gratefully for this opportunity and would recommend these professional seminars to all the IPA members of South Africa.

Servo Per Amikeco

Dr. Lizél Pretorius

Klerksdorp SAPS

SOUTH AFRICA