Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care : a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

Background. Despite the extensive literature assessing associations between religiosity/spirituality and health, few studies have investigated the clinical applicability of this evidence. The purpose of this paper was to assess the impact of religious/spiritual interventions (RSI) through randomized clinical trials (RCTs).

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Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action: Reducing risk, promoting resilience and aiding recovery

The purpose of the Guidelines is to assist humanitarian actors and communities affected by armed conflict, natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies to coordinate, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate essential actions for the prevention and mitigation of GBV across all sectors of humanitarian response.
The overall goal of the Guidelines is to support humanitarian stakeholders in fulfilling their responsibility to protect all those affected by crises, by:

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The invasion of the Dutch East Indies

Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan (now the Center for Military History of the National Institute for Defense Studies) published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History Series). These volumes give a detailed account of the operations of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War.

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Treating young children’s disruptive behavior problems. Dissemination of an evidence-based training program in the Netherlands

The majority of young children lose their temper or become frustrated when they don’t get what they want. Also, children can have an angry or irritable mood, or hit other children. These behaviors are part of their typical development and it has been found that children who do not initiate physical aggression before the age of 3 are extremely rare (Tremblay, 2010). Developmental studies have shown that aggressive behavior in children peaks between 2 and 3 years of age and that boys show this behavior more frequently than girls (Alink et al., 2006).

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Implementing psychosocial methods to reinforce women's legal rights awareness training in Jordan

There are often large gaps between providing information on legal rights and the actual use of that information in women's daily lives. Clinical psychologists from the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development - Legal Aid devised joint psychosocial legal awareness training sessions to empower women through culturally sensitive assertiveness skills training, so they could make better practical use of legal rights information.

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Good practices with victims of torture

1. Introduction and support from the European Commission
According to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the term «torture»
is any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a
third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third
person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or

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Taskshifting: translating theory into practice to build a community based mental health care system in rural Haiti

In 2012, Zanmi Lasante, a Haitian nonprofit organisation, along with its sister organisation, Partners in Health, developed a mental health plan intended to go beyond the immediate post earthquake context by building capacity for mental health and psychosocial services within primary care services at 11 Zanmi Lasante sites throughout Haiti's Central Plateau and Artibonite regions.

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Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: reflections on a review of UNHCR's approach and activities

Mental health and psychosocial support activities are increasingly becoming a core component of humanitarian response and support for displaced persons in emergencies. However, recognition of the mental health and psychosocial impacts of conflict, disaster and displacement is relatively new within the sphere of humanitarian assistance. This paper, therefore, describes and expands on findings from a review of the UN Refugee Agency's engagement with mental health and psychosocial support for refugees.

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The effects of war: local views and priorities concerning psychosocial and mental health problems as a result of collective violence in Burundi

This paper explores how people in Burundi view the impact of the past civil war on their lives and wellbeing. The methodology consisted of focus group discussions (n = 104), including participatory ranking techniques, and key informant interviews with traditional healers (n = 8). Respondents saw economic decline (poverty, loss of livelihoods), worsened health and nutritional status as major issues, but also mentioned social aspects (erosion of mechanisms for social support and conflict resolution), and psychological aspects (sadness, grief).

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Personal perspectives of protracted displacement: an ethnographic insight into the isolation and coping mechanisms of Syrian women and girls living as urban refugees in northern Jordan

The ongoing conflict in Syria has provoked mass exodus on an unprecedented scale, with over four million Syrian refugees now registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Most of these refugees fled across the borders to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey, where the vast majority of Syrian refugees now live outside of the camps, their priorities and coping mechanisms shifting due to their protracted displacement.

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