Pain and Somatic Symptoms in Tortured Refugees : A Clinical Survey

Torture may be associated with long-lasting somatic symptoms, only partly explained by physical injuries. Physical pain as a result of torture may seriously complicate the diagnostics and treatment of posttraumatic pathology in refugees. The question whether a relation exists between the experience of torture and the extent of reported medically unexplained physical symptoms, is therefore highly relevant. We firstly hypothesized that refugees who underwent torture will report more somatic symptoms, as operationalized by experienced pain, than refugees without a history of torture.

Read more

On The Im/Possibility of Mourning the Holocaust

This meditation on the nature of transgenerational transmission of Holocaust trauma and the possibility/impossibility of mourning the Holocaust was triggered, like the residue of a waking dream, by the author’s chance encounter with a private, intimate moment.

 

Read more

The ethnic density effect in psychosis : a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis

Background
An ‘ethnic’ or ‘group’ density effect in psychosis has been observed, whereby the risk of psychosis in minority group individuals is inversely related to neighbourhood-level proportions of others belonging to the same group. However, there is conflicting evidence over whether this effect differs between minority groups and limited investigation into other moderators.

 

Aims
To conduct a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the group density effect in psychosis and examine moderators.

 

Read more

Traumatized Refugees in Psychotherapy : Long-Term Changes in Personality, Mental Health, Well-Being, and Exile Life Functioning

This pre- and posttreatment study of 22 severely traumatized adult refugees spanned a mean of 6.5 years. Changes in personality functioning, mental health, and well-being were examined using the Rorschach Performance Assessment System, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, Hopkins Symptom Checklist–25, and the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life–BREF questionnaire.

Read more

Music therapy was noninferior to verbal standard treatment of traumatized refugees in mental health care : Results from a randomized clinical trial

Background: Many people with refugee backgrounds suffer from trauma-related complex social and psychological problems, and compliance with standard psychological treatment tends to be low. More culturally adaptable treatment options seem to be needed.

 

 

Read more

Post-traumatic stress disorder, human rights and access to healthcare : an analysis of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights from an ethical perspective

Background: Human rights violations such as torture are associated with a high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) include a normative perspective on PTSD and address central ethical questions.

 

 

Objective: To help bridge the gap between the psycho-medical and the legal discourse on human rights violations and to illustrate their medico-ethical implications by systematically assessing and categorizing all judgements by the ECtHR dealing with PTSD.

 

Read more

Overcoming barriers to mental health care : multimodal trauma‑focused treatment approach for unaccompanied refugee minors

Background: This study evaluated the feasibility of a short-term, multimodal trauma-focused treatment approach adapted specifically for unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) in the Netherlands. This approach aims to overcome barriers to mental health care and to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

 

Read more

Feasibility and acceptability of Problem Management Plus with Emotional Processing (PM +EP) for refugee youth living in the Netherlands : study protocol

Background: Refugee youth experience hardships associated with exposure to trauma in their homelands and during and after displacement, which results in higher rates of common mental disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed Problem Management Plus (PM+), a non-specialist-delivered brief psychological intervention, for individuals who have faced adversity. PM+ comprises problem-solving, stress management, behavioural activation and strengthening social support.

Read more

Dropout from psychological interventions for refugees and asylum seekers : A meta-analysis.

Background: Refugees and asylum seekers often suffer from migration stressors and related psychopathology. However, providing this population with psychological treatment has a number of barriers (e.g., culture and language differences), which are widely thought to hinder the success and continuation of treatment.

 

Objective: The current systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide first comprehensive evidence on the prevalence and predictors of dropout in treatment provided for refugees and asylum seekers.

 

Read more

Barriers, Attitudes, Confidence and Knowledge of Mental Health and Psychosocial Humanitarian Staff in Cox’s Bazar in Responding to Suicide Risk

Although suicide is a significant global health priority, it is underexamined in humanitarian crises. Over 850,000 Rohingya reside as refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh; suicide risk may be high in this community by some indicators, but little is definitively known. Even less is known about humanitarian workers’ capacity to recognise and respond to suicide risk in affected communities.

Read more

Pages