"Who can you tell?": features of Arab culture that influence conceptualization and treatment of childhood sexual abuse.

The literature on child sexual abuse reflects growing recognition of the manner in which culture impacts the conceptualization, experience, and treatment of such cases. Despite heightened visibility of Arab Americans within the United States, population due to recent media attention, little empirical research exists on the occurrence of child sexual abuse within this population.

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Father‐Involvement in a Refugee Sample: Relations between Posttraumatic Stress and Caregiving

Despite increased attention to the role of fathers within families, there is still a dearth of studies on the impact of trauma on father-involvement. This study investigates the quantity of father-involvement and the influence of posttraumatic stress on the quality of involvement in a refugee and asylum seeker population. Eighty refugees and asylum seekers and their young children (aged 18–42 months) were recruited.

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Prevalence of Nightmare Disorder in Psychiatric Outpatients

Nightmares can cause great suffering as they disturb sleep, affect
daily functioning and overall well-being. They are associated with
psychopathology like anxiety disorders, more specifically posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, personality pathology, suicide
risk, and substance abuse [1, 2] . Two to five percent of the general
adult population suffers from one or more nightmares a week
[3, 4] . One study of psychiatric patients with more severe psychopathology
showed a prevalence rate of 39.8% of ‘bad dreams that disturbed

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Learning from traumatic experiences with brief eclectic psychotherapy for PTSD

Brief eclectic psychotherapy for PTSD (BEPP) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that combines and integrates elements from psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and directive psychotherapy. Psychoeducation is done jointly with the patient and his or her partner. Exposure, a structured writing task, and memorabilia are used to help patients accessing, feeling and expressing their suppressed emotions related to the traumatic experience. In the domain of meaning stage, patients will learn how they and their view of the world have changed, and that they have become “sadder but wiser”.

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Mental health capacity building in northern Sierra Leone: lessons learned and issues raised

Ten years after a brutal and protracted war, Sierra Leone remains very much in recovery. Despite the need for increased and long term mental health services, such resources remain scarce. Mental health capacity building is required, and includes: the community sensitisation of mental illness and treatment; the training of health professionals and lay persons; the advocacy for changes in national mental health policy; and the provision of mental health services.

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The Swedish support to Bosnia Herzegovina: rebuilding mental health services after the war

In the aftermath of the war in Bosnia Herzegovina, a task group of Swedish experts organised and supported training of community psychiatry and social work as part of the mental health reform. Among the basic principles of the programme were a close cooperation with the Ministry of Health, personal continuity, exchange of knowledge and long term engagement. With the support of the programme, community mental health centres were created and staffed with a team consisting of: a psychiatrist, four nurses, a psychologist and a social worker.

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The ADAPT model: a conceptual framework for mental health and psychococial programming in post conflict settings

There is a growing consensus concerning the scope and components of mental health and psychosocial interventions needed to assist populations exposed to mass conflict. The Adaptation and Development after Persecution and Trauma (ADAPT) model offers a unifying, conceptual framework to underpin policy and practice in the field

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Inter-agency coordination of mental health and psychosocial support for refugees and people displaced in Syria

The current crisis in Syria has greatly escalated need, while simultaneously damaging infrastructure within the country. In order for humanitarian efforts to be effective, understanding the mental health profile of the population concerned, pre-existing mental health system, resources and gaps, as well as an evaluation of the current service situation is vital. This paper provides an analysis of the shifting resources and infrastructure available to the affected populations in Syria, complementing the systematic review of mental health outcomes elsewhere in this issue.

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Painting glass as a psychosocial intervention: reflections of a psychosocial refugee outreach volunteer in Damascus, Syria

This personal reflection describes the experience of a psychosocial refugee outreach volunteer in Syria. Born and raised in Iraq, the author fled with her family to Syria in an attempt to escape the violence. Trained as an English teacher and educational psychologist in her home country, she volunteered to help other refugees in Syria and describes this as challenging, but very rewarding. Key factors to be able to continue her work are the importance of weekly supervision and being part of a team.

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Personal reflections on a psychosocial community outreach programme and centre in Damascus, Syria

This personal reflection describes the experiences of a Syrian psychologist who works as a (volunteer) supervisor of the mental health and psychosocial support programme of the UN Refugee Agency in Syria. Her reflections touch on the importance of psychosocial community outreach and an outreach counselling centre. The author also reflects on her background, motivation and challenges, as well as the impact of the current situation. She also highlights the impact of the transition of the programme from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to a national partner organisation.

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