Chan-Seung Chung
In Melbourne in the latter half of 2023, alongside 13 journalists, I was drawn to explore not just the city’s charming wildlife but the depths of trauma recovery through the Dart Centre Asia Pacific’s Trauma-Informed Disaster Reporting Training.
My journey into trauma care began with witnessing journalists’ stress and trauma from covering disasters such as the Sewol ferry sinking and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Realising the importance of media in disseminating mental health guidance, I eagerly engaged with journalists, providing interviews and lectures on coping with trauma.
Meeting respected journalist and trauma expert and DCAP Board Director Chong-ae Lee was a turning point.
I decided to accompany Chong-ae to Australia for the Trauma-Informed Disaster Reporting Training course with the Dart Centre Asia Pacific (DCAP).
The training – which started with the hospitality of DCAP’s CEO, Dr Erin Cotter-Smith, its Deputy CEO, Dr Kimina Lyall, and its Project Lead Amantha Perera – was an excellent program that was also greatly beneficial to a psychiatrist like me.
Bruce Shapiro, the Executive Director of The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, emphasised a dual necessity for journalists: To understand trauma for sensitive reporting, and to protect their mental wellbeing in high-stress environments.
This understanding is crucial not just for accurate reporting but for journalists’ long-term resilience and mental health.
Journalists experience ‘vicarious trauma’ from indirect exposure to disasters, highlighting the need for awareness and personal boundaries to manage this risk.
This training also covered dealing with ‘moral injury’ and ‘online trauma’, presenting challenges that violate journalists’ moral beliefs and expose them to harassment, requiring strong support networks within media organisations.
The power of peer support emerged as a significant theme, with journalists sharing their traumatic experiences and offering mutual support.
This approach fosters a culture of understanding and aids in recovery, demonstrating that effective help often comes from within the journalistic community itself.
During a tour of ABC Melbourne, beloved Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalist and presenter Lisa Millar hosted a roundtable discussion where she emphasised the importance of openly addressing mental health care, likening it to physical health care, thus challenging any stigma around seeking psychological help.
On the final day of training, I had the honor of delivering a lecture. I stressed that, while we cannot control the occurrence of trauma, we can determine our response to it.
Efforts to heal trauma can unify and strengthen communities, highlighting the role of journalists in not only understanding and empathising with trauma but also in contributing to understanding, healing and societal change.
This training concluded with a symbol of hope – sighting of black swans in Albert Park – representing the potential for positive change in Korean journalism towards trauma awareness and empathy.
My experience during this training has reinforced my belief in the power of trauma-informed, compassionate reporting to heal and unify.
I am grateful to all the journalists, trainers, employees and colleagues who shared their insights and experiences, contributing to a deeply enriching learning experience about trauma, its impact, and the path to recovery.
- Chan-Seung Chung MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist practising in South Korea and an internationally certified Jungian psychoanalyst. His dedication to the public health response to COVID-19, mental health advocacy for journalists, efforts in trauma recovery post the Seoul Halloween crowd crush, and support for the mental well-being of migrants and refugees have garnered him a prestigious commendation from the South Korean Minister of Health and Welfare in 2023.
