Pakistan plans counselling for traumatised children

Islamabad, Dec 21: Pakistan's National Health Services (NHS) has prepared counselling session programme on post-traumatic stress management for the children who survived the gruesome Peshawar school attack, media reported Sunday. According to an official statement, sessions will be held with students, their families and teachers that would help them recover from the shock, Dawn online reported. A committee of members from the mental health and non-communicable disease coordination cell of the health ministry, the Army Medical Crops, psychiatrists from Islamabad and Peshawar, WHO collaborating centre and UNICEF, held an emergency meeting to prepare a counselling session programme. WHO collaborating centres are research institutes, parts of universities or academies, which are designated by the director-general to carry out activities in support of the organization's programmes. Information, education and communication (IEC) materials, messages, modules on post-traumatic stress disorder would be made available for public.