Five essential principles of post-disaster psychosocial care : looking back and forward with Stevan Hobfoll

In 2007, a leading article was published by Stevan Hobfoll and a team of international experts. The authors synthesized available scientific evidence and distinguished five essential principles of psychosocial care to people confronted with disaster, tragedy, and loss. Care givers should promote: (1) a sense of safety, (2) calming, (3) self- and community efficacy, (4) social connectedness, and (5) hope. After their publication, the ‘‘essential principles’’ influenced the thoughts of policy makers, care providers, and scholars from all over the world.

Factors affecting mental health of local staff working in the Vanni region, Sri Lanka

In the aftermath of the civil war that extended from 1983–2009, humanitarian organizations provided aid to the conflict-affected population of the Vanni region in northern Sri Lanka. In August, 2010, a needs assessment was conducted to determine the mental-health status of Sri Lankan national humanitarian aid staff working in conditions of stress and hardship, and consider contextual and organizational characteristics influencing such status.

The role of major depression in neurocognitive functioning in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract.
Background
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently co-occur after traumatic experiences and share neurocognitive disturbances in verbal memory and executive functioning. However, few attempts have been made to systematically assess the role of a comorbid MDD diagnosis in neuropsychological studies in PTSD.
Objective

Hotspots in Trauma Memories and Their Relationship to Successful Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy: A Pilot Study

Imaginal exposure is an essential element of trauma-focused psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Exposure should in particular focus on the “hotspots,” the parts of trauma memories that cause high levels of emotional distress which are often reexperienced. Our aim was to investigate whether differences in the focus on hotspots differentiate between successful and unsuccessful trauma-focused psychotherapies. As part of a randomized trial, 45 PTSD patients completed brief eclectic psychotherapy for PTSD.

Bouncing forward of young refugees : a perspective on resilience research directions

War and persecution around the world force children and adolescents to leave their own country. In 2011, more than 876,000 people worldwide appealed for refugee status, 34% of whom were younger than 18 years (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2012). Many of these young refugees will grow up to be a part of Western society, shaping its future. Young refugees need to rapidly adapt to changing societal conditions.

The significance of experiences of war and migration in older age: long-term consequences in child survivors from the Dutch East Indies

Background: This study examines late consequences of war and migration in both non-clinical and clinical samples of child survivors of World War II. This is one of the very few studies on the mental health of children who were subjected to internment in camps, hiding, and violence under Japanese occupation in the Far East. It provides a unique case to learn about the significance of experiences of war and migration in later life.

The West and the Muslim Brotherhood after the Arab Spring

Before December 2010, virtually no one had heard of Mohammed Bouazizi outside of the dilapidated central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. Yet when he set himself on fire in front of the local governor’s office, in a desperate protest gesture against the confiscation of his goods and the apparent humiliation he suffered at the hands of the local police, the poor fruit seller became the symbol of a protest movement that engulfed first Tunisia and then large swaths of the Arab world, changing the region’s history.

The strength of family ties: A meta-analysis and meta-regression of self-reported social support and mortality

Perceived social support has long been recognized as associated with better health and longevity. However, important factors that may moderate this relationship have not been sufficiently explored. The authors used meta-analyses and meta-regressions to examine 178 all-cause mortality risk estimates from 50 publications, providing data on more than 100,000 persons. The mean hazard ratio (HR) for mortality among those with lower levels of perceived social support was 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05, 1.17) among multivariate-adjusted HRs.

THE IMPACT OF CRITICAL INCIDENTS: PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE FOR PROFESSIONALS

Impact Foundation - Knowledge and Advice Centre for psychosocial Care concerning critical incidents.

 

Are funeral operatives well prepared for the psychosocial impact their work may have on them?

 

The art of medicine : Child in the shadowlands

She shivered as she entered the hotel room. It was not that the team of investigators from the International Criminal Court did not seem friendly. It was not that she was afraid to give her testimony and go through her traumatic experiences all over again. It was the air-conditioned, dark hotel room that made her shiver: a sharp contrast with the outside heat and sun-beaten colours of Bangui.

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