The Impact of "Training the Trainers" Course for Helping Tsunami-Survivor Children on Sri Lankan Disaster Volunteer Workers

The authors evaluated the impact of a "training the trainers" course for helping Sri Lankan tsunami-survivor children on education and mental health disaster volunteers. Sixty-two disaster volunteers were randomly assigned to either a school-based (ERASE Stress) "training the trainers" course or to an alternative "befriending" program that served as a control group. Participants in the ERASE Stress course significantly improved their perception of self-efficacy as tsunami survivors' helpers (Disaster-Helper Self-Efficacy Scale), self-mastery (Mastery scale), and optimism about their personal future (item from the Children's Future Orientation Scale). In addition, the perceived ability to use cognitive coping strategies (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire) such as refocusing on planning, positive reappraisal, and putting the trauma into perspective was enhanced. The ERASE Stress course may be an effective method for strengthening local community capacity to deal with trauma survivors in developing countries.