Abstract

The psychological responses of two groups of fire fighters were examined following the performance of rescue work. Four types of responses were reported: identification with the victims, feelings of helplessness and guilt, fear of the unknown, and physiological reactions. Stress was found to be mediated by availability of social support, type of leadership, level of training, and use of rituals. Implications of these findings for preventive intervention measures are discussed.

Abstract

The impact of stressful life events on health has been of considerable interest from a cross-cultural perspective. Examined herein is the etiology and onset of post-traumatic stress disorder with careful review of the diagnostic criteria, current measures used and clinical dimensions of PTSD. Also examined from a cross-cultural perspective is how psychological trauma may be processed by victims of trauma and subsequent approaches both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

The dominant model of disease today is biomedical, and it leaves no room within tis framework for the social, psychological, and behavioral dimensions of illness. A biopsychosocial model is proposed that provides a blueprint for research, a framework for teaching, and a design for action in the real world of health care.

In two studies (n = 480; n = 156), the health problems (somatic, psychological, and migration-related complaints) of refugees were examined, in relation to violence, demographic, and asylum variables (ongoing sociopsychological strain). High frequencies for torture events and a substantial number of medical complaints were reported, but few cases ofdiagnosable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were identified (Study I: 6%; Study II: 11%). Not only reported violence, but also the current social situation contributed to the experiencing of ongoing health complaints.

In opdracht van GGZ Nederland in het kader van het Actieplan Interculturalisatie

Actieplan Interculturalisatie is een project van GGZ Nederland en wordt gefinancierd door het ministerie van VWS

Deze publicatie en het onderzoek waarop deze publicatie gebaseerd is, maakt onderdeel uit van het Actieplan Interculturalisatie van GGZ Nederland. Doel van het actieplan is de intercul-turalisatie -het bieden van klantgerichte zorg in een multiculturele samenleving- van de sector op een hoger plan te brengen.

Introduction

“Camp is not so much a place as a condition. “I’ve had camp,” he says. That makes him different from us. We’ve had chicken pox and German measles. And after Simon fell out of a tree, he got concussion and he had to stay in bed for weeks. But we never had camp.“

- Nightfather, Carl Friedman; novel about a man’s experiences in the Nazi concentration camps as seen through the eyes of his children -

According to the UNHCR, a record number of around 60 million people are currently displaced worldwide. In 2015, more than 1 million refugees and asylum seekers had reached Europe across the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 50% constituting Syrians.1 Around 59.000 refugees and asylum seekers arrived in the Netherlands in 2015.2 Given the on-going civil war in Syria and difficult conditions in the regional countries, it is not likely that the refugee influx will reduce substantially in the following years.

Participatie bevordert de geestelijke gezondheid van vluchtelingen, maar gezondheid is ook essentieel om te kunnen participeren. Mentale aandoeningen komen bij vluchtelingen de eerste jaren na aankomst veel vaker voor dan in de algemene bevolking. Zorg- en hulpverleners moeten daarop bedacht zijn. Tegelijk zijn er diverse mogelijkheden om deze problemen het hoofd te bieden. Die kunnen beter worden benut. Dit schrijft de Gezondheidsraad in een vandaag [24-02-2016] uitgebracht advies aan de minister van VWS.