Addressing collective trauma: conceptualisations and interventions

Complex situations following war and natural disasters have a psychosocial impact not only on the individual, but also their family, community and the larger society. Fundamental changes in the functioning of the family and community can be observed as a result of these impacts. At the family level, the dynamics of single parent families, lack of trust among members, changes in significant relationships and child rearing practices are seen. Communities tend to be more dependent, passive, silent, without leadership, mistrustful and suspicious.

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War experiences, daily stressors and mental health five years on: elaborations and future directions

In this paper, the authors elaborate on a model proposed in 2010 that identifies major sources of stress affecting mental health among war affected populations. That model emphasised the importance of what was termed ‘daily stressors’, as well as direct exposure to war related violence as predictors of mental health status The authors first summarise the original model and discuss the widespread response to the 2010 paper among researchers and practitioners working in conflict and post conflict settings.

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Resource caravans and resource caravan passageways: a new paradigm for trauma responding

We have long outgrown the capacity of the accepted clinical models of trauma, and a paradigm shift in our thinking is long overdue. The data on traumatic stress were posited from a certain cognitive-behavioural viewpoint, with particular emotional components based almost in their entirety on western, mostly white individuals seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder, and focusing on that time frame. As such, mechanisms such as fear and emotional conditioning theory and the ways traumas are encoded in memory only partially explain trauma response.

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Evaluating the psychosocial components of a humanitarian project: describing the effect of an intervention in relation to psychosocial problems

One inescapable fact of most psychosocial interventions is the requirements of donor organisations, often in the form of project or programme evaluations. A group of psychosocial workers working with formerly displaced people, who are now relocated in resettlement areas, were asked by the donors to show that their approach is effective in removing psychosocial problems. In this field report, it is shown that, in this particular case the job of the psychosocial workers can indeed be described in terms of removing psychosocial problems.

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Examining promising practice: an integrated review of services for young survivors of sexual violence in Liberia

In 2012, an integrated review of programmes for young survivors of sexual violence in Liberia was conducted in order to identify promising practice within the context of current prevention and response initiatives. A total of 279 programme related materials were examined as part of a structured document review. In addition, 40 key informant interviews were conducted with representatives from government ministries, United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organisations.

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Key factors that facilitate intergroup dialogue and psychosocial healing in Rwanda: a qualitative study

Psychosocial interventions in many post conflict settings, including Rwanda, have failed to facilitate dialogue between members of conflicting groups while aiming to rebuild the broken social fabric that individuals and communities depend on for sustainable peace and development. Locally initiated programmes that do engage conflicting parties in dialogue are often overlooked, and therefore unable to inform interventions.

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Emergency psychiatric care in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

People with psychiatric disorders in humanitarian emergencies are primarily neglected and lack appropriate treatment. This results in unnecessary suffering, stigmatisation, loss of dignity and increased mortality. This paper describes the experience of Médecins Sans Frontières in providing emergency psychiatric treatment as a component of a busy medical programme in Mweso, a conflict affected region of North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Interventions included treatment with psychotropic medications by non specialist physicians and counselling by lay counsellors.

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Rebuilding the social fabric: community counselling groups for Rwandan women with children born as a result of genocide rape

The 1994 Rwandan genocide subjected thousands of women to rape, many of whom became pregnant as a result. Although mothers and their children born as a result of those rapes are an at risk population, there is very little research or reported programmes addressing their needs. This paper describes a pilot community group counselling programme for these mothers. Quantitative and qualitative data show the groups to be effective. The results suggest that the groups helped the mothers connect with others in a similar situation.

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Harnessing traditional practices for use in the reintegration of child soldiers in Africa: examples from Liberia and Burundi

The changing nature of armed conflict has been characterised by the use of children as soldiers. The disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of these children back into society has become a primary concern for post conflict African countries seeking to achieve a sustainable peace. Studies have emphasised the crucial role of a participatory approach as an important factor in ensuring success in reintegration programmes.

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Protective and risk factors of psychosocial wellbeing related to the reintegration of former child soldiers in Nepal

This paper explores protective and risk factors for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing among 300 child solders (verified minors) through a longitudinal study. Both the Hopkins Symptoms Check list and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (civilian version) were used to measure mental health problems, while the Generalised Estimating Equation was used to identify both the protective and risk factors over time. Anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder decreased over a nine month period, while depression prevalence did not change.

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