About Debriefing:
2. Who is it for?
A Debrief is for anyone involved in ministry/vocational contexts who desires to grow in their understanding of God, themselves and the people and experiences that have shaped them, and to continue to live out of these aspects of life in an integrated way.
Kinds of debriefing that Piringa specifically focuses on:
- Cross-cultural workers and families (including children) returning 'home' on home assignment or moving on to another assignment (more info below)
- People who are moving into, out of, or in between different church or parachurch ministries
- People who have, within a ministry/vocation context, experienced major disappointment and trauma or have faced a major crisis and are experiencing emotional, mental and spiritual distress
- People who are questioning the direction of their ministry/vocation and are seeking external help in processing their thoughts, before possibly making major life directional/ministry decisions
- Critical incident (trauma) debriefing. This crisis intervention is for people who have very recently been affected by a critical incident (e.g. forced evacuation, abduction, armed attack, natural disaster, break up of a team etc.)
+ Debriefing for Cross Cultural Workers
When returning from overseas it is best practice to have a physical check-up with your doctor. Likewise, it is considered that a personal Debrief is also important for an emotional, relational and spiritual check-up. This is especially so because of the major cross-cultural changes and transitions that are taking place.
+ Debriefing for Families
It is just as important for children returning from a cross cultural situation to have an environment to articulate their feelings and have someone to listen to them, as it is for adults. Children from 5 years + can benefit greatly from a debrief. A family debrief for children from 5 – 13 years of age is mainly ‘activity ‘ based.
- A family debrief at Piringa could take different formats depending on the dynamics and needs of the family and each family member;
- Best practice is that parents should come for a personal debrief first and then return for another debrief with the children. If this is not possible then;
- Children and parents are debriefed together as a family with the possibility of some individual sessions. (When this happens then the debrief is focused on the needs of the children and aimed at their level of understanding.); and
- In a family debrief because some of the time is spent with the children each day then time spent with parents separately is shortened.
In the situation when any of the younger children are not being debriefed then you would need to bring a babysitter/childminder to look after them whilst you are in the sessions. As well, processing/reflection work is given to do out of session and this is best done without the distraction of children.
