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There‘a an expression I've been using a lot lately in meetings with news leaders as the MediaStrong news initiative grows in size and ambition: 'A rising tide lifts all boats.’

Time and time again, I've seen how collaboration allows us to do our greatest work. I've organised sessions with industry peers to discuss hostile environment deployments and big set-piece events like Royal Weddings.

MediaStrong was conceived in 2023 by journalist Leona O’Neill, who developed post-traumatic stress after witnessing the murder of a fellow journalist. The initiative has been laser-focused on helping the news industry develop tailored trauma support for journalists, namely through our annual flagship conference. 

As we approach our next event on 13 July, I have been reflecting a lot on what I hear from newsroom colleagues – and especially seasoned foreign correspondents returning from places like Rwanda and, more recently Ukraine. The stories we recount in the therapy room are enough to turn your average therapist as white as a ghost. It's clear that during the course of our careers, many of us will need specialised trauma support from professionals.

I am myself a psychotherapist working predominantly with clients presenting with post-traumatic stress and complex trauma. At the MediaStrong symposiums over the years, we've heard from those at the top of their game, journalists like the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen and CNN’s Clarissa Ward, of the unavoidable mental toll this work takes on us.

"I wish I had been told when I first went out in the field that it doesn’t matter how strong you are, how resilient you are, how loved you........

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