Trauma Counseling: A Necessity for Social Enterprises Working with At-risk Youth.

Hello! My name is Agatha and I have worked with Takataka Plastics, Gulu for two and a half months, now. I work as a Trauma Counselor, and also help in the sales and Marketing Department.

Agatha, Head of the Trauma Counselling Unit at Takataka Plastics.

Takataka Plastics Gulu is in its third year of operation. We are providing a recycling service that currently does not exist, creating income & trauma-healing opportunities for the marginalized, and reducing environmental & health hazards in places where waste is currently burned or littered.

Most people in Gulu are still recovering from the 20-year LRA civil war. The war left many people traumatized with limited access to counseling services and few job opportunities. The war also partly contributed to the increase of street-connected youths in Northern Uganda. Gulu has more than 600 youth who live and work on the streets. 

Takataka Plastics’ mission is to create jobs and a healing workplace community for these street-connected youth.

Out of the total number of employees, approximately 50% are part of the at-risk population from the community in and out of Gulu City. Employing street-connected youth restores the lost trust between them and the community and even their families while also reducing the crime rate.

Some of the youth currently undergoing training at Takataka Plastics

This year, Takataka Plastics created a full-time position for a Trauma counselor to better accomplish our Vision and Mission.

The counseling sessions take different forms ranging from face-to-face individual counseling to group counseling. Most employees prefer individual counseling sessions because of their privacy. For group counseling sessions, we have adopted “Healing the Wounds of Trauma” written by the American Bible Society. We have seen positive changes in the lives of the youth throughout our sessions.

You may wonder why it’s necessary to provide counseling for workers…but, you are not alone. Read further and you will find all the reasons to make this move, soonest.

Workplace counseling is a therapy that is provided through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), mental health program, or traditional health insurance. It is definite that everyone needs counseling; including the counselor. This is why, counseling isn’t a platform to find exact answers to one’s problems, but it opens up our minds to the possibly unseen or the unthought-of possibilities and perspectives- because there is always another way of looking at or dealing with a given situation other than the selfish or undesirable thoughts that rush to our minds when we are caught up in a situation that affects our well-being.

Does workplace counseling help?

When our counselor asked Ajok (Not real names) about what life looked like before joining our team and being engaged in counseling sessions, she replied that she didn't care what consequences the life she lived on the street would have in her life. While living and working on the streets, she didn't listen to anyone, not even her parents. She felt like an outcast in her community because her parents didn't even want to identify with her anymore.

Ever since she underwent trauma counseling sessions at work, she says she now openly relates with people and can easily open up about what stresses her. She now lives, listens to, and also relates better with her parents. The counseling coupled with her earnings at work has brought happiness to her family. She has managed to quit the bad peers that she used to hang out with.

When asked what her family or community members say about her, below is what she had to say:

"My parents are proud of me. People praise me for accepting to change and becoming a better person. Community members say she is so lucky to have been chosen out of the many youths to under-go the sessions and get to work with Takataka Plastics - they all wish they could have a chance too."

Agatha, our counselor in a group therapy with some members of Takataka Plastics

Employee counseling does not only help employees deal with problems they face in their personal and professional lives, but also helps them gain skills to cope with life’s stressors.

The benefits you will realize:

Increased productivity and performance at the workplace.

When employers provide a safe environment in which workers are able to get off life’s stressors from their shoulders, there is a higher chance that employees are able to focus on work and realize increased productivity.

Improved Company Culture.

Providing counseling services at the workplace lays a foundation of trust from the employees and it is an assurance that the employer cares about the general well-being of its employees.

Increased job satisfaction.

A workplace that cares about mental health gains more attraction in the employment market and is likely to attract a series of professional and hardworking job seekers.

Facts about workplace counseling.

1.      Employee counseling isn’t just for people with a diagnosis.

Everyone experiences stress, relationship problems, anxiety, and mood swings- whether they get to open up about it or not. Therefore, we all need someone to talk to confidentially and without judgment.

2.      Employees are usually not transparent about their mental health. We all do not want our lives to be an open book and thus, most employees tend to hide their struggles from their managers, co-workers, and even family members.

This is why, when designing a mental health program for a workplace, one should consider having both one-on-one sessions, and group sessions (which normally caters for the group of employees who might not speak up but will be able to draw sense and a lot of lessons from general sessions).

In conclusion, I invite all employers to be part of the change in our communities and embrace Workplace Counseling- You will never look back!