Terms of Reference – Lot A: Trauma-Informed Clinical and Crisis Psychologists

Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA) · WISA project · October 2026

AWA will contract 2–3 experienced clinical psychologists or psychotherapists, under framework agreements, to form the core of the WISA / NWM Wellbeing Support Mechanism: they handle complex and trauma-related cases and respond to crises within 24 hours, at national level.

1. Background and objective

“Weaving Digital Safety: Albania’s Women Media Network Initiative” (WISA) strengthens media freedom and journalists’ safety in Albania, with a focus on women journalists and media workers. It is funded by the European Union and implemented by Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA), the Center for Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) and the Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH).

Within WISA, AWA and the regional chapters of the Network of Women in Media (NWM) are setting up a confidential, trauma-informed wellbeing support mechanism for women journalists, media professionals and digital creators.

Objective of Lot A: to ensure specialised psychological support for beneficiaries affected by trauma, violence, threats or serious online harassment, and a reliable crisis response at national level. Lot A experts also receive complex cases referred by the regional psychologists of Lot B.

2. Scope of services

2.1 Individual trauma-informed support

• Online or in-person counselling for beneficiaries affected by threats, violence (including gender-based and technology-facilitated violence), serious online harassment, intimidation or traumatic events linked to their work.
• Use of evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches (for example TF-CBT, EMDR, CPT or equivalent).
• An initial package of up to 10 sessions per beneficiary (50 minutes each). An extension of up to 6 further sessions may be approved by the Wellbeing Case Manager on the expert’s written, anonymised justification.

2.2 Crisis response

• First contact with the beneficiary within 24 hours of a crisis referral, and a first session within 48 hours.
• Participation in a rotating on-call schedule agreed with the other Lot A experts, so that one expert is reachable at all times during the agreed hours.
• Immediate safety planning and referral guidance where necessary.

2.3 Referral and coordination

• Referral to psychiatric, medical, legal or social services when required, through the project’s referral pathway.
• Receiving complex cases referred by Lot B psychologists.
• Participation in monthly clinical supervision (Lot C2) and in the coordination meetings of the mechanism (anonymised case discussion only).

2.4 Location and volume

Item	Lot A
Coverage	National; mainly online, in person in Tirana
Number of experts	2–3
Indicative volume per expert	[●] sessions per month, plus on-call availability
Language	Albanian (English is an asset)

3. Required profile

Minimum requirements

• Master’s degree in clinical psychology, or a recognised qualification in psychotherapy.
• Active membership of the Order of Psychologists of Albania (Urdhri i Psikologëve) or equivalent licence to practise.
• At least 6 years of clinical practice, of which at least 3 years with trauma, violence or crisis cases.
• Training in at least one evidence-based trauma-focused approach.
• Proven experience with women survivors of violence, including gender-based violence.
• Ability to deliver secure online sessions and to be available for crisis response.
• Fluency in Albanian.

Assets

• Experience with journalists, activists, human rights defenders or other public-facing professionals.
• Experience with online harassment and technology-facilitated violence.
• Training or experience in crisis intervention and psychological first aid.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and data protection standards.

Exclusion criteria

Applicants will not be considered if they:

• refuse to sign the confidentiality, safeguarding and data protection documents;
• require the sharing of beneficiaries’ identities or session content with third parties;
• refuse the coded (anonymous) reporting procedure;
• hold an elected or appointed political office, or a leadership role in a political party;
• hold an ownership or management role in a media outlet;
• use unverified or unethical therapeutic practices;
• have a confirmed ethics complaint or disciplinary measure from a professional body.

4. How the mechanism works

4.1 Referral pathway

1. The beneficiary contacts the Wellbeing Case Manager, a designated AWA role bound by a non-disclosure agreement and kept separate from AWA management, regional coordinators and project partners.
2. The Case Manager carries out a short intake, assigns a beneficiary code and refers the case to the most suitable expert. Only the code, the type of support and the authorised number of sessions are passed on.
3. The expert contacts the beneficiary and delivers the sessions. Session content stays between the expert and the beneficiary.
4. Extensions, referrals to Lot A or to external services, and case closure are agreed with the Case Manager by code only.

The register linking codes to identities is held only by the Case Manager, encrypted and stored separately from project files.

4.2 Confidentiality

No personal or identifiable information about beneficiaries may be shared with AWA, regional coordinators, project partners, the donor or any third party, except:

• with the beneficiary’s explicit written consent;
• where there is an immediate risk to the life or physical safety of the beneficiary or another person;
• where disclosure is required by Albanian law or by a court order.

In each of these cases, only the minimum necessary information is shared.

4.3 Trauma-informed approach

Experts apply approaches sensitive to trauma, gender-based violence, online harassment and professional stress, and avoid any practice that may re-traumatise the beneficiary.

4.4 Safeguarding

Experts comply with the WISA Safeguarding Protocol and Code of Conduct. Any concern involving project staff, partners or other experts is reported to the Safeguarding Focal Point, without revealing the beneficiary’s identity unless she consents or there is an immediate risk.

4.5 Data protection and secure practice

• Only the minimum necessary information is collected, in line with Albanian legislation on personal data protection.
• Online sessions take place on end-to-end encrypted or password-protected platforms agreed with AWA. Sessions are never recorded.
• Clinical notes remain the property and responsibility of the expert, are stored securely and are never transmitted to AWA.

5. Reporting and verification

Reporting must allow AWA to justify every payment to the European Union without revealing who the beneficiaries are.

5.1 Monthly session log (attached to each invoice)

Field	Example
Beneficiary code	WISA-A-014
Date and duration	12/11/2026, 50 min
Format	Online / in person
Type of service	Individual / crisis / referral
Session number in the package	3 of 10
Beneficiary’s confirmation	Signature or electronic confirmation with code only
Expert’s signature	—

5.2 Quarterly anonymised report

• number of beneficiaries and sessions;
• types of services provided and referrals made;
• general, non-identifiable thematic trends (for example, a rise in online harassment cases);
• systemic recommendations for the mechanism and for media employers, where relevant.

5.3 Never reported: names of beneficiaries, session content, diagnoses, clinical notes or personal histories.

5.4 Audit and controls. Under the EU grant contract, the European Commission, OLAF and the European Court of Auditors may verify that the services were delivered. Experts keep session logs and beneficiaries’ confirmations for [5] years after the end of the project and make them available, in coded form, for such checks. The code–identity register is disclosed only if strictly required by the auditors, under their confidentiality obligations.

6. Contracting and payment

6.1 Modality. Selected experts sign a framework agreement valid until the end of the WISA project, [end date], with the possibility of extension.

6.2 Fees. Applicants submit their financial offer in the format below. Amounts are gross, in ALL, and include all taxes and contributions due by the expert.

Fee item	Unit	Offered rate (ALL, gross)	Ceiling set by AWA
Monthly availability fee (on-call and coordination)	month		[●]
Individual session, online or in person	50-minute session		[●]
Crisis session outside the on-call schedule	session		[●]
Travel for in-person sessions outside the expert’s city	trip	actual cost, pre-approved	[●]

6.3 Payment. Monthly, against an invoice or payment request, the session log (section 5.1) and, for the availability fee, confirmation of the on-call schedule. Experts registered with a NIPT issue an invoice; for others, AWA withholds tax in line with Albanian legislation.

6.4 No guaranteed workload. The framework agreement does not guarantee a minimum number of sessions beyond the monthly availability fee.

6.5 Documents to sign

• Framework agreement / service contract;
• Non-disclosure agreement;
• Conflict of interest declaration;
• Data protection and confidentiality undertaking;
• Safeguarding compliance declaration and Code of Conduct.

Any breach of confidentiality or safeguarding obligations results in immediate termination of the agreement.

7. Application and evaluation

7.1 Application documents

1. CV (maximum 4 pages);
2. motivation statement (maximum 2 pages), answering: (a) how you would handle a first crisis contact with a journalist who has received threats; (b) how you protect confidentiality when working with public figures; (c) which trauma-focused approaches you use and why;
3. copies of diplomas and certificates of trauma-focused training;
4. proof of membership of the Order of Psychologists or equivalent licence;
5. availability for sessions and for the on-call schedule (days, hours, online/in person);
6. financial offer in the format of section 6.2;
7. at least one professional reference;
8. signed self-declaration on exclusion criteria and conflict of interest.

Send the application to awa.albania@gmail.com with the subject line Application – WISA Wellbeing Pool – Lot A, by 16 November.

7.2 Evaluation criteria

Criterion	Points
Clinical experience and qualifications	20
Expertise in trauma, GBV and crisis intervention (evidence-based methods)	25
Experience with women, media or public-facing professionals, and online harassment	15
Confidentiality, ethics and safeguarding (motivation statement and interview)	15
Availability, including crisis on-call and secure online practice	15
Cost-effectiveness of the financial offer	10
Total	100

Applications scoring at least 65 points are invited to a 30-minute online interview. The interview may adjust the score for confidentiality, ethics and availability. Candidates are ranked; the highest-ranked are contracted and the others remain on a reserve list.

7.3 Contact. Questions: awa.albania@gmail.com, until 9 November.

This document has been produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.