School psychology service at the Yinhatil Nab’en

This was my third visit to San Mateo Ixtatán, having heard much about the students and the school and having experienced the local culture for a few weeks, and also speaking enough Spanish to feel comfortable to do so, I offered counseling hours for students and teachers in the afternoons. I thought that the stigma of seeing a psychologist or a counselor would hold people back, but to my surprise I did have some cases to see. The most important part of this work was that I realized that psychological support for both teachers and students is very much needed. San Mateo Ixtatán, being strongly affected by 36 years of civil war, is a place where the signs of trauma are very much present in the every-day life: depression, alcoholism and violence are the ones that are the most apparent. In order to address these issues we have started to develop a plan to offer school psychology services at the Yinhatil Nab’en School, with a friend, Saskia Schuitemaker, a community psychologist. The service will also include an orientation for the volunteer teachers and teambuilding sessions for the school staff throughout the year. We are hoping that this work will make a difference in the psychological well being of the students, the teachers and the community and will facilitate a more open communication, better cooperation and stronger connection between and among them.