Most anti-trafficking staff in low-resource settings lack training in evidence-based mental health interventions. In the absence of proper staff training, services for survivors do not adhere to best practices and, in certain instances, may be detrimental. Eleison provides training, mentorship, and support to service providers to increase the quality of care for survivors. Our capacity-building initiatives aim to equip other service providers with survivor-centered, evidence-based, and culturally-adapted interventions to improve programs and elevate care standards for survivors.
In February 2023, Eleison’s Executive Director, Dr. Laura Cordisco Tsai, facilitated an “Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training” for social work students at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF). MI is a person-centered, evidence-based counseling approach to strengthening a person’s motivation for and commitment to change within an atmosphere of partnership, acceptance, compassion, and evocation. It is a trauma-informed and survivor-centered approach to behavioral change, offering an alternative to hierarchical and confrontational methods, particularly appropriate for survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence.
The College of Social Work at USPF invited Eleison to train their social work students to increase their communication and clinical skills. The training emphasized culturally-adapted MI appropriate for the trainees’ practice contexts, demonstrating to aspiring social workers how MI can foster a culture of safety, empowerment, and survivor autonomy. This training marks the beginning of Eleison’s partnership with USPF to fulfill USPF’s goal of training all their social work students and faculty in MI.
Upon completion of the training, a participant shared feedback regarding their experience:
“I am grateful for this MI training because it gave me ideas on how to be effective in helping my clients in the future, especially clients who experienced abuse, neglect, and violence.”
Another participant shared:
“The MI training is very helpful for me, especially in the field that I choose [as an intern] and in the field that I’ll be working in the future. As a social work intern, I am motivated to communicate and understand clients better.”
If your organization is interested in participating in one of our training and capacity-building programs or implementing MI into your work with survivors, email us at info@eleisonfoundation.org or message us here.
