Background:

Findings from prospective studies question the assumption that mental health problems observed in traumatized adults mainly reflect the effects of potentially traumatic events.

Aims:

Aim of the present comparative prospective study is to clarify the extent to which victims of potentially traumatic events with mental health, social, financial, and/or legal problems, already suffered from such problems before these events.

Method:

Objective:

Empathy is a foundational therapeutic skill and a key contributor to client outcome, yet the best combination of instructional components for its training is unclear. We sought to address this by investigating the most effective instructional components (didactic, rehearsal, reflection, observation, feedback, mindfulness) and their combinations for teaching empathy to practitioners.

Method:

Background
Despite broad interest of the Syrian refugee plight in the academic and media circles, there are still limited studies analyzing the lived experiences of torture survivors under the Syrian regime. This qualitative study interviewed torture survivors to examine the form and function of the Syrian regime’s security apparatus, and the personal aftermath of survivors.

Deaths of relatives and peers in potentially traumatizing circumstances may lead to symptoms of prolonged grief (PG, e.g.,yearning, preoccupation) and posttraumatic stress (PTS, e.g., re-experiencing, hypervigilance). There is limited knowledge about how symptoms of PG and PTS co-occur following such events. The current study aimed to identify patterns of DSM-5-TR defined PG symptomatology and PTS in a sample of 213 youngsters, involved in a school bus accident killing seven peers 2 months earlier.

Ritualizing, the creative, imaginative, and intuitive act of ritual making has been acknowledged for some time now in the literature. In this study, this intuitive process is studied in more detail from the perspective of ritual theory. The aim is to theoretically strengthen a framework of ritual making for professionals, such as chaplains and celebrants working with renewed rituals.

Few studies have examined treatments for complicated grief—a debilitating condition that can develop after the loss of a loved one. This study compared the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy with a nonspecific treatment with supportive counseling (SC).

Drawing on multiple theoretical approaches, the book features chapters from practitioners running groups in different settings, such as torture rehabilitation services, refugee camps, and reception centres. The voices of participants demonstrate the variety, creativity, and value of group and community approaches for recovery. The editors have gathered chapters into three sections covering: community-based approaches; groups that work through the medium of "body and soul"; and group approaches that focus on change through the spoken word.

Lezing gehouden bij de herdenking van de Japanse Jongens- en Vrouwenkampen op 21 augustus 2022.

Met lood in mijn schoenen zette ik begin maart de video online waarmee we het thema van de Maand van de Geschiedenis 2022 bekendmaakten. Het was ruim twee weken nadat Rusland Oekraïne binnenviel en dit was niet de enige crisis die in 2022 de krantenkoppen bepaalde. De stikstofcrisis, de woningcrisis, de klimaatcrisis en nog een aantal andere hielden de gemoederen bezig. Het thema ‘Wat een ramp!’ was onbedoeld wel heel actueel.

Tom Middendorp waarschuwde als Commandant der Strijdkrachten dat het aantal conflicten wereldwijd zal toenemen door klimaatverandering. Hij schreef er een boek over, Klimaatgeneraal. ‘Ik hoop dat klimaatverandering een verbindend thema kan worden. Hoe vaak we het wereldwijd ook oneens zijn, we zijn allemaal slachtoffer.’