A Bradford psychotherapist has offered help to hundreds of people struggling to deal with the aftermath of the South Asian earthquake.

Khalida Sheikh, 51, who works for Bradford City Primary Care Trust, spent two weeks in the disaster zone, holding training sessions in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Pakistani north west frontier.

She talked to scores of front-line workers - teachers, medics and rescue workers - in Muzaffarabad and Mansera.

They had dragged bodies out of the rubble in the earthquake's aftermath last October.

"I met a head teacher of a large school in Muzaffarabad," said Mrs Sheikh.

"She was in the school when the whole building collapsed. The memories she is trying very hard to erase from her mind include seeing the young girls half buried and half outside the rubble and crying and screaming to be rescued.

"The mothers of those girls were absolutely helpless to bring them out of the rubble.

"For three days this teacher witnessed them crying to be rescued and for three days no rescue came. Dozens died in front of her eyes. She was still identifying bodies in December.

"If people are seeing those kinds of things every day, imagine the effect on their own lives."

Mrs Sheikh worked alongside a psychotherapist from the USA and a psychologist from India to set up Psychological Assistance Without Borders (PAWB).

"People are now suffering with insomnia; they have lost touch with their own spirituality and do not want to pray," said Mrs Sheikh.

"They are afraid of movement if anything shakes. Some said they are scared to ask each other how they are for fear they may hear a story they don't have the strength to listen to.

"They avoid eye contact with each other because they are losing the capacity to listen."

Mrs Sheikh was based in Islamabad where she was hosted by nuns from Idara-Etaleem O Adachi, a voluntary organisation which educates children in domestic labour.

"They had a lot of schools in the affected areas of Kashmir," she said. "Most of the schools were wiped out. They had been involved with the rescue operation from day one and they saw a lot of death and destruction."

The team of professionals were able to offer training to around 200 people in combating compassion fatigue and burn-out; how to spot symptoms and deal with them through relaxation, breathing exercises and meditation.

"When you are involved in the rescue operation you see so much death and destruction but you forget that it has an impact on yourself," said Mrs Sheikh, who made the trip to Pakistan and Kashmir during her annual leave.

"In Muzaffarabad, we offered training in a United Nations camp because so many of the city's amenities have been destroyed. We had planned it for 60 people but 90 people turned up.

Every one of them was so affected themselves. They cried in the sessions because they had never had chance to share their experiences."

Despite struggling to attract financial support for her trip, Mrs Sheikh was undeterred and hopes to return to offer further help during the next few months.

l To make a donation to Psychological Assistance Without Borders (PAWB) or find out more, call Mrs Sheikh on 07939 197120.