A WREXHAM woman has been helping victims of one of the country's worst terrorist attacks deal with their trauma.

Susan Darker-Smith, a psychiatrist from Wrexham, has joined the Trauma Response Network, which has been helping victims of last year's Manchester bombing.

She said she was inspired to help after being disappointed with the length of time between a terrorist attack and the victims receiving psychiatric help.

The Trauma Response Network is made up of a team of professional, qualified therapists specialising in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) who have committed their time for free to help support people affected by mass trauma. Within hours of an event those affected can self-refer online, benefitting from a free online psychoeducation session.

Using the latest cloud technology, the Trauma Response Network delivers a live session where therapists and clients can engage in real time using voice, a video cam, a chat box and an interactive whiteboard.

The online session is followed up by face-to-face therapy made up from up to five sessions, again delivered for free by qualified EMDR therapists. These will bridge the gap where early intervention is needed before the existing service provision can kick in.

Susan Darker-Smith said: "We were asked to provide assistance following on from the Manchester arena bombing, the rationale being that after a major traumatic event, there was no immediate help for people suffering with mental health issues.

"The idea of using technology to help people is exciting and innovative. There have been trials of online psychotherapy but nothing on this scale, where those affected by an incident of mass trauma are able to access online support and speak to an accredited EMDR clinician within 24 hours.

"Our online presence enables us to offer our package to people during that period after a terrorist attack where the NHS is stretched the most thin.

"It's not just national events we cover either, we can also help in local areas for example most recently in Salisbury.

"We're always looking at things we can do. There are situations where the anniversary of an attack can bring back trauma. All the work we do is voluntary and we just want people who are not adverse to helping others.

"We want to make sure that we are helping the right way. There are a lot of organisations out there that aren't registered so they don't have the impact them need.