Serving the whole person

The counselling rooms are busier now than ever before

When refugees and asylum seekers come to us they are often traumatised by the experiences that forced them to flee their homes. If left untreated these people may develop ways of dealing with their trauma which become a huge handicap in the future.  At Chung King Mansions Service Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, our new psycho-social programme aims to help these people in a professional way.

I am so grateful for the two volunteer counsellors who’ve worked with our adult clients over the past three years. Their contribution has led to this expansion, and I am sure they’re as pleased as I am that the new programme includes counselling for children and teenagers.

Thirteen mental health professionals are providing pro bono services to help meet the needs of our clients. These professionals include counsellors, clinical psychologists, an art therapist, and a life coach. Because these counsellors speak a variety of languages, many of our clients can be counselled in their mother tongue, so it’s less of a struggle as they share their pain and fear.

Christian Action now offers the refugee and asylum seeker community a wide-range of resources to deal with and manage psychological, spiritual, emotional and behavioural issues. For me this is a major breakthrough in our service provision!

I am also optimistic about this programme’s continued growth. The Centre for Behavioural Health (CBH) at Hong Kong University are partnering with us to advise, assist, and promote the development of a holistic psycho-social service. We have also entered into a partnership with City University, Alliant University (US), California School of Professional Psychology, and the Hong Kong Institute of Christian Counsellors. Their PhD and Masters’ students volunteer at our centre.

A solid Advisory Board is the foundation on which we’re building. Members come from a diverse range of ethnic, cultural, educational and vocational backgrounds and specialise in the mental health field. Their experience will be invaluable in understanding the needs of our clients.

There are currently 32 adults and seven children in this programme. Although we’re helping more people than ever before, we only have the capacity to serve a small percentage of those who need counselling. We also welcome referrals from partner NGOs. Please pray that funding is forth coming to make this service available to many more suffering people.