Individual Materials
Exercises, podcasts, multimedia, websites, and more to explore at your leisure. Build, rebuild, and monitor your resilience levels.
Individual: Building Resilience Materials
Bouncing Back
Why: Psychoeducation to learn more about resilience and resilience enhancement. It’s a recommended reading by FSI.
PowerPoint: Resiliency Skills
Building and Maintaining Resiliency in a High Threat Environment.
Shared by Beth Payne
Five Key Aspects of Resilience
Exercises to Enhance Resilience
Based on the American Psychological Association’s “10 Ways to Build Resilience”
Mindfulness Coach App
Why: This free app features a very well designed interactive platform that people can use on the go, during deployment, and after deployment.
Emergency Yoga – Yoga for Humanitarians
Why: Valuable resource for Foreign Service Professionals who have practice yoga in the past as part of their professional care. In our interviews we have identified that many FSP think of yoga as an activity that keeps them grounded and helps them manage stress.
Write a Journal (guiding questions adapted by IPSI)
Why: Keeping a journal or blog is recommended by FSI.
Relaxation MP3 Files
- Guided Deep Breathing Exercises
- Guided Muscle Relaxtion
- Soothing Instrumental Music
- Guided Imagery
Why: Can be used by individuals or groups to facilitate or guide activities proven to decrease stress levels.
Recommendations for Better Sleep
Why: Healthy Sleeping both protects and helps to manage PTSD symptoms.
Foreign Service Assignment Notebook: What Do I Do Now?
Why: This resource offers important information and guidance on all aspects of preparing for an international move for Department of State personnel. Available to ALL employees and family members transitioning to an overseas assignment. Revised in 2012.
Planning for the Unforeseen
Why: Preparedness kit that will help people who will be deployed in high risk areas or high stress areas to manage the unforeseen by planning ahead. Very valuable resource center that gives advice on wills, insurances, life insurance, pre-deployment checklists, etc.
Individual: Just in Time Materials
Stress Busters Activities for Individuals
Why: These activities will help an individual manage traumatic events and high stress levels by keeping the mind focused.
Individual: Rebuilding Resilience Materials
PTSD 101 Course, Resilience to Stress and Trauma
Why: Psychoeducation on PTSD. Makes the link between PTSD and Trauma.
PTSD Coach Online
Why: Reliable information on PTSD and treatments that work. This app provides tools for screening and tracking your symptoms, convenient and easy-to-use tools to help you handle your stress symptoms, direct links to support and help, and is always available.
Adaptation of PCL-C (PTSD Check List)
Why: Serves as self-assessment
Learn about PTSD and Treatment Options
Why: Psychoeducation on PTSD through whiteboard animations, and normalization through animations on treatment options.
High Stress Assignment Outbrief Program
Why: Course participants will understand the challenges of returning from a high stress environment, learn how to share information with their loved ones to ensure the kind of reunion you want and deserve, identify signs and symptoms of possible psychological reactions, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and locate additional resources – if desired – and convey to the State Department the full range of difficulties you encountered.
Facing Fears: Exposure
Why: Through controlled and gradual exposure a person can confront fearful situations and decrease anxiety. By following the steps recommended in this document an individual or group of people can develop resistance.