Author: Still Waters Global

Travel Mental Health

 

Although mental health is often an afterthought in travel medicine, in fact, the psychiatric impact of travel is an area of growing interest, not only because of the prevalence of inter- national travelers from all sectors of the population, but also because of the changing nature of international travel. A recent Swiss travel clinic study of 22,584 travelers seeking pre- travel advice revealed the purposes of travel as follows: tourism, 81.5%; visiting friends and relatives, 7.8%; business, 5.6%; other (volunteer work, study, pilgrimage and so on), 5.1%. Although the majority of travel is still for tourism, increasingly, medical providers are called on to support people traveling for mission work, disaster relief, or military and para- military purposes. These changes make it critical for health providers involved in the support of travelers to be aware of common mental health problems that emerge during travel so that they can advise travelers on risks and offer effective support when problems emerge.

Read more of Sam Thielman’s observations on supporting expatriates abroad here:

Thielman-Travel and Mental Health

Client Testimonials

  • "For the last six years, Dr. Sam Thielman, working through Still Waters Global, has been an exceptional benefit to our worldwide ministry to those suffering intense persecution and trauma. Sam has provided very needed expert training and technical advice both in one of our most difficult field areas in Asia and with regular meetings with our Africa and Middle East trauma care teams. We have greatly benefited from his long experience with trauma, resilience building and staff care in Africa and the Middle East – with the State Department - and with his eye toward cutting-edge, best practice and the latest research that propels our teams to a higher standard of care and practice. I would highly recommend Sam to consult with your organization."

    Dr Glenn Goss

    Senior Trauma-Resilience Advisor
    International NGO working with persecution trauma