Suraj Thapa MD PhD is a trained psychiatrist and researcher in Norway who has more than 20 years of experiences of research and clinic in the field of forced migration, trauma, posttraumatic stress disorders and transcultural psychiatry. He is currently Head and Associate Professor at the Division of Mental Health and Addiction, University of Oslo and visiting Professor, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University. He leads a research group called “Traumatic stress, forced migration and global mental health” at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital. He is currently leading a research project called Study of Outcome of Trauma (SHOT Study) among clinical populations in Norway and Nepal and a COVID-19 project among patients visiting psychiatric clinics in Oslo. He also leads a project between Norway and Nepal for collaboration in higher education in mental health and research.

In this webinar, Dr Thapa is going to talk about psychological stress and trauma and how one can cope with stress with some examples from forced migration and COVID-19 pandemic. This will be relevant not only for those working with forced migration and human trafficking but also all the others who have been experiencing stress and distress during this ongoing pandemic caused by COVID-19. He will also be describing mental health problems associated with trauma and stress with focus on posttraumatic stress disorder so that one can recognize symptoms, which may require help from professionals. There will also be room for questions/comments and discussions.