UN peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel will be able to perform more effectively in stressful situations if they are screened and given training in stress management prior to deployment, according to Matthew Friedman, executive director of the United States National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel face two kinds of psychological stressors, Friedman explains: direct exposure to the inherent danger and deprivation of war zones, and vicarious traumatization from the suffering experienced by the people they have been sent to help.

In these situations, Friedman says, common stress reactions could be emotional (such as shock, irritabililty or despair), biological (such as fatigue, insomnia or headaches), cognitive (such as poor concentration, confusion or decreased self-esteem) or psychological (such as alienation or substance abuse).

Susceptibility to stress varies from individual to individual and according to the nature of a mission assignment. Research on Norwegian troops returning from peacekeeping duty in Southern Lebanon revealed that 96 percent regarded their assignment as an enlightening experience that had enhanced both their self-reliance and their capacity to cope with stress.

On the other hand, Canadian general Romeo Dallaire, who was UN commander in Rwanda during the genocide, has since suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Aid workers in Goma in 1994, who were exposed to people dying by the thousands from dehydration, suffered vicarious traumatization, according to Friedman. The situation was compounded by the fact that they were reminded daily of enormous suffering because the removal of dead bodies was such a huge logistical challenge.

Of crucial importance is the provision of appropriate assistance when "critical incidents" occur, according to Marc Powe, UNICEF security coordinator. When two UN staff members were killed in Burundi in 1999 UN stress counselors arrived shortly afterwards to provide counseling. "This made a big difference in helping the UN community to come to terms with what had happened," Powe explains.

"Clearly, what applies to humanitarian workers also applies to the journalists on the scene," says Frank Ochberg, chair of the Dart Center's Executive Committee. Ochberg is a founding board member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and editor of the first text on treatment of PTSD.

"Like humanitarian workers, journalists should know that they are at risk for personal and interpersonal distress after exposure to trauma. While formal debriefings may not be needed, they can benefit from informal, peer-oriented discussions."