Caring for Our Caregivers, an initiative launched in response to the real and rigorous toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on healthcare workers, is providing frontline heroes around the world with wellness and relaxation resources via apps preloaded onto donated tablets. Led by nonprofit organization Sufi Psychology Association (SPA), the initiative was developed in an immediate response and driven solely by donations, volunteers and good will, the initiative has resulted in 491 donated tablets and 16,300 headsets among 151 hospitals to 16,791 healthcare heroes across the globe to date, spanning four countries and 25 states in the U.S. Diligently working to expand their reach as the pandemic continues on, the SPA delivers tablets with a preloaded Sufi meditation and mental health app to doctors, nurses, therapists and other medical professionals internationally in an effort to offer frontline heroes the opportunity and resources to decompress and take care of themselves during an extremely challenging time. Sufism, which is based upon experiential learning and understanding, offers techniques for managing the long-term impacts and effects the pandemic has taken on many.
“As the COVID-19 crisis demanded healthcare workers take on unimaginable stress and sacrifice their mental health to keep us all safe, we knew that we must do something to mitigate the effects and make sure they were being taken care of, too,” said Saloumeh Bozorgzadeh, PsyD., President of Sufi Psychology Association. “Launching the Caring for Our Caregivers initiative has made a direct impact on the lives of many selfless medical professionals. The key to our program is that the sessions can be utilized on the user’s time, as we know daily schedules are anything but regular while the world fights this virus. Whether recipients utilize the technology before a shift or after a hard day’s work, we want to ensure they have the tools needed to unwind and recharge.”
From PTSD to exhaustion, burnout and trauma among healthcare workers has been on the rise long before quarantine fatigue. The need for access to these resources is crucial to prevent deterioration of mental health amongst healthcare industry workers, and Caring for Our Caregivers has many donations scheduled to continue on with their mission.
Launched in a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and led by Sufi Psychology Association, Caring for Our Caregivers delivers tablets preloaded with meditation, wellness and relaxation resources to healthcare workers via hospital deliveries around the globe. Driven solely by donations, volunteers and goodwill, they have donated 491 tablets and 16,246 headsets to 149 hospitals around the globe spanning four countries and 25 states in the U.S. to date.
Sufi Psychology Association (SPA) is a nonprofit organization based in California specializing in exercising the principles of Sufi Psychology of M.T.O Shahmaghsoudi®, a.k.a The Science of the Soul, in order to expand upon the current limitations of psychology, encompassing the entirety of the human being. SPA practices the principles of Sufism so that each individual may come to know his or her innermost self, far beyond thoughts, feelings and behaviors, reacquainting them with their true identity, the “I”. In identifying the “I”, one moves past the habitual patterns of behavior, repetitive thought process and emotional reactivity to discover harmony, balance and joy from within. The SPA reminds individuals that there is more to them than just their situations and circumstances. In addition to holding workshops and experiential conferences at universities throughout the school year, The SPA offers many other means of learning, including workshops, educational information at weekend retreats and Tamarkoz® classes for credit. Additionally, the SPA conducts research on Sufi Psychology, the practices of Sufism and publishes a semi-annual journal, Sufism: The Science of the Soul.
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