Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku, staff members of the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Tokyo English Life Line felt they needed to help not only the survivors, but also the volunteers, NGO and welfare workers who supported the hard-hit people in the affected areas.

"We know that (those people) can quickly develop their own symptoms and secondary trauma if they don't know what to expect (after a disaster) and how to take care of themselves," said Linda Semlitz, clinical director of TELL's counseling center. By interviewing NGO and welfare workers at the disaster-hit areas, TELL found out they were "exhausted and distressed."

Semlitz noted that it is a very Japanese thing for the aid workers "to give everything" they had. "We felt they were going to need some special support," she added.