The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) launched a three-day Training of Trainers workshop in Tehran aimed at strengthening mental health and psychosocial support for IRCS emergency responders.

The program responds to the psychological pressures faced by Relief and Rescue personnel working in conflict, crisis and other high-pressure environments.

Approximately 20 IRCS psychologists from across the country participated in the training. The workshop combined theoretical learning, practical exercises and facilitated discussions, covering responder wellbeing and resilience, peer support, identification of psychological distress, referral pathways, supportive interventions and self-care.

“The initiative follows four earlier workshops conducted last year, which trained approximately 160 IRCS first responder personnel”, according to Roman Paramanov, Deputy Head of ICRC Delegation in Iran in the opening ceremony of this workshop.

The workshop used a two-phase cascade training model to extend psychosocial support across the IRCS Relief and Rescue Organization. In the first phase, participants from provinces received this three-day Training of Trainers (ToT), strengthening their skills in responder wellbeing, self-care, peer support, psychological distress identification and referral.

In the second phase, the trained psychologists work in 10 co-facilitation pairs, delivering mental self-care and psychosocial support workshops to Heads of Relief and Rescue Bases and operational personnel.

Through this cascade approach, the programme aims to reach approximately 600 IRCS staff, while ongoing supervision, online follow-up and technical support help ensure consistent application and sustainability.