At 9:30 a.m. on Friday, September 4, 36 child abuse response workers gathered in the 11th-floor Open Auditorium of the National Center for Mental Health in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. They included child abuse officials, counselors from child protection agencies and staff at shelters for abused children, coming from 17 cities and provinces across the country. On this day, those receiving care were the adults who have been caring for children.
The event was a "Healing Camp" held by the National Center for Mental Health together with the National Center for the Rights of the Child, a program designed to look after the mental health of response workers and prevent burnout.
The organizers said the purpose was to ease the emotional burden built up in the field, help participants recover psychologically and build their capacity to care for themselves. At the time of the event, the director of the National Center for Mental Health was Nam Yun-young, and the president of the National Center for the Rights of the Child was Kim Yu-im.
The program did not rely on lectures alone. There was a session to learn the ACT Matrix, a technique from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and a segment on managing emotions using tai chi and energy exercise methods was also included. The Alexander Technique was part of the program as well. The organizers explained that the lectures were combined with hands-on activities and exchanges among participants.
Participants on the day totaled 36 across the 17 cities and provinces. The announcement did not include the criteria used to select participants or whether there is a path to counseling after the camp.
A state agency in charge of mental health and a state agency in charge of children's rights addressed worker burnout in the same auditorium. Whether this effort, in which 36 people took part, will be expanded to sites nationwide depends on the follow-up plans of the two agencies.
