Trauma support for Lebanese journalists

Covering Lebanon's successive crises takes a toll that rarely makes it into the stories journalists file. They document destruction, death, and instability, often from within it, and then move on to the next assignment. A new initiative from Embrace, the Lebanese mental health organization, is designed to address exactly that gap.

The program, titled On the Frontlines of Truth: Protecting the Mind Behind the Stories, is a trauma-informed support group for journalists in Lebanon. It has been launched, though sessions have not yet begun, with registration currently open. Rasha Amine, Clinical Programs Manager at Embrace, spoke exclusively to The Beiruter about what the initiative aims to do and why it matters now.

A safe space that doesn't exist elsewhere

The premise of the program is straightforward: journalists covering high-risk environments are continuously exposed to trauma, and the structures around them rarely account for that.

"Journalists, especially those covering the frontlines, are constantly exposed to trauma," Amine told The Beiruter. "They witness destruction, death, instability, and they are always at risk because they go to high-risk areas. So we wanted to give something back, to support their wellbeing, and make them feel that someone is caring for them. To create a safe space where they can share their experiences, and where we can guide them so they can process and relieve some of the trauma they are exposed to."

The sessions will be run in groups rather than as individual therapy, facilitated by Rima Hadi, lead psychologist on the project and a member of Embrace's clinical team, alongside clinical psychologist Peter Wanna.

Accessibility as a design principle

The program will be offered both in person and online, depending on the participant's preference. It will also run in Arabic and English, a deliberate choice rooted in the understanding that language shapes how people access and express difficult experiences.

"Some people feel more comfortable expressing themselves in English," Amine explained. "So we created a space where they can express themselves in the language they prefer."

The flexibility is significant. Lebanese journalists work across a wide range of environments and circumstances, and a program that requires physical presence or operates only in one language will inevitably exclude people it is meant to reach.

The broader point

Journalism in Lebanon has never been a low-stakes profession, and the past several years have pushed that further. Reporters have covered a financial collapse, a pandemic, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, a war, and renewed escalation, often with minimal institutional support for what that kind of sustained exposure does to a person.

A prevalent message

Amine's message to journalists reflects that reality directly. "Even though what they do is very important and necessary," she said, "it is absolutely not shameful to say: 'I need to breathe, I need a break, I need to care for my wellbeing and mental health, and I need to take care of myself.'"

She continued: "Their job is very risky, they are on the frontlines to report what is happening accurately. At the same time, it is important that they pause and acknowledge themselves, and consider their mental health and wellbeing."

That framing, care as something journalists are entitled to, not a concession to weakness, is perhaps the program's most important contribution. The initiative does not ask journalists to step back from their work. It asks the field to acknowledge that the work has a cost, and that cost deserves a response.