Helping Hands at School and in the Community: Guidance for School-Based Psychosocial Programmes for Teachers, Parents and Children in Conflict and Postconflict Areas

Abstract

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Pre-deployment mental health and trauma exposure of expatriate humanitarian aid workers: risk and resilience factors

Abstract
Expatriate aid workers (n = 214) representing 19 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) completed a predeployment
survey, including measures of mental health (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]); risk factors
(childhood trauma, family risk, and adult trauma exposure); and resilience factors (coping, social support, and healthy lifestyle)
to assess their baseline mental health during preparation for deployment. Multiple regression analysis indicated that childhood

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Preventing Religious Radicalisation and Violent Extremism: A Systematic Review of the Research Evidence

Executive summary

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War trauma lingers on: Associations between maternal posttraumatic stress disorder, parent–child interaction, and child development

The combination of vulnerability and resilience after traumatic experiences is a bewildering juxtaposition seen in human beings and especially so in children. A striking illustration of this juxtaposition are the findings of studies on the impact of traumatic events experienced by parents on health and adjustment of their children (often labeled as intergenerational transmission of trauma or secondary traumatization).

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Experiences of a junior doctor establishing mental health services in Somaliland

The author of this personal reflection is a junior doctor from Somaliland, a country that has suffered from civil war. He studied medicine there, and became interested in mental health care. This aspect of heath care is among the most neglected in the horn of Africa. However, with the support of British psychiatrists, the author has established educational training in psychiatry. He has also subsequently initiated mental health services in his hometown of Borama.

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How bereavement became strength: the story of an Iraqi woman working with war affected widows in Baghdad

In 2006, the author was studying for her MA degree in English, in Baghdad. A married Iraqi woman, she was kidnapped along with her husband. She was released after eight days, but her husband was killed. In this personal re£ection, she describes her own profound grief and how she found meaning in life once again while working with the International Organization for Migration. This intergovernmental organisation gave her the opportunity to provide support to other Iraqi widows.

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The story of a Congolese refugee worker in Tanzania

The author, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was trained to teach children with special needs. In this personal re£ection, she describes how due to the violence in her home country, she became a refugee in Tanzania, twice. She describes the suffering she has faced, including the death of her own children, and her experiences of sexual violence. In the refugee camp of Nyarugusu in Tanzania, she became involved in psychosocial work and learnt the power of working within the community.

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Psychosocial support in the midst of the 2012 Mali crisis: a rapid overview of the current situation

After military officers deposed the president of Mali in March 2012, rebels seized control of the northern parts of the country, and declared independence. The resulting political instability and insecurity in northern Mali has led to mass displacement of the population to the southern parts of the country. Local and international agencies have agreed to work together to develop a coherent and pragmatic psychosocial response to the crisis. Since June 2012, a group of Malian psychosocial professionals meet regularly to coordinate this immediate response.

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The development of a training covering coping strategies for local social educators working in the violent slums of Rio de Janeiro

Residents, living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, are almost daily confronted with drug related violence. Similarly, local social educators working with children and young adults in these slums, also frequently live amidst this extreme violence. However, while this gives them a thorough understanding of the needs of the people they work with, it may also sometimes interfere with their ability to assist others, and they may sometimes be in need of support themselves.

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School based psychosocial work with children affected by terrorism and other violence: examples from a local organisation in North Ossetia, Russia

This field report describes the activities of a local, nongovernmental organisation attempting to strengthen the system of psychosocial support available in schools in North Ossetia, Russia. This semi autonomous republic in the Russian Federation has been plagued by terrorism and the influx of internally displaced and refugee children. The activities described aim to address the mental health needs of the children, their families and caregivers, and foster healthy psychosocial development within the school system.

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