'Against all odds': UNHCR's mental health and and psychosocial support programma for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced Syrians

Intensified fighting and insecurity in Damascus has limited the ability of the Iraqi refugees, displaced Syrians, partners and staff to physically access many of the fixed facilities offering mental health and psychosocial services. Those that do, have to travel substantial distances through checkpoints and ‘hot areas’. However, before the conflict in 2011, UNHCR Syria was already in the area, operating a comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support programme for Iraqi refugees, building on the resources and capacities of the refugee population.

Evaluating the psychosocial components of a humanitarian project

The author describes the evaluation of the activities of a group of psychosocial workers in Internally Displace Person camps and resettlement areas. These psychosocial activities were offered as an addition to a programme aimed at improving the living conditions of the target group by building shelters and livelihood programmes. The approach of the psychosocial workers was based on intuition and common sense, but not on an explicit view on the objectives of their interventions and the connection between these objectives and the methods they were using.

Psychosocial support for Bhutanese refugees in Nepal

For more than 20 years, thousands of Bhutanese refugees have been living in refugee camps in eastern Nepal, in an uncertain and challenging situation. Now, the possibility of resettlement is bringing even more challenges into their lives. In recognition of this situation, the nongovernmental organisation Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation Nepal provides psychosocial support to this group, in collaboration with United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other humanitarian agencies.

Common Threads: a recovery programme for survivors of gender based violence

A multi-dimensional, intervention programme for survivors of gender based violence was piloted in Lago Agrio, Ecuador and a nearby Colombian refugee settlement. Local facilitators were trained to implement the programme with small groups of women. The model introduces art therapy techniques, psycho-education, peer support, symptom reduction techniques and psychosocial skill building, within the context of a women's hand sewing collective.

Experiences of forced mothers in northern Uganda: the legacy of war

From 1986–2007, the Lord's Resistance Army inflicted severe suffering on civilians in northern Uganda through indiscriminate killing and child abductions. While both abducted boys and girls were trained to use arms, girls were commonly distributed among commanders as forced ‘wives’. These traumatised girls and young women (both pregnant and ‘forced mothers’) were retained in rehabilitation centres longer than any other ex-combatants.

Child friendly spaces: a systematic review of the current evidence base on outcomes and impact

Child friendly spaces are widely used in emergencies as a mechanism for protecting children from risk, as a means of promoting children's psychosocial wellbeing, and as a foundation for strengthening capacities within communities for child protection. A systematic review of published and ‘grey’ literature identified 10 studies that met specified inclusion criteria. Each study was reviewed with respect to the potential protective, promotive, and mobilising impacts of the intervention.

Syrian mental health professionals as refugees in Jordan: establishing mental health services for fellow refugees

While the conflict in Syria rages on, one psychiatrist and several psychologists, all of them Syrian refugees, have founded ‘Syria Bright Future’, a volunteer organisation that provides psychosocial and mental health services to Syrian refugees in Jordan. This field report describes how the organisation assists families in settling after their harsh journey, in adapting to new living conditions and circumstances, coping with difficulties they encounter and strengthening their resilience.

Lay counselling in humanitarian organisations: a field report on developing training materials for lay counsellors

Lay counsellors provide valuable psychosocial support in many different circumstances, such as manning telephone helplines for cancer patients, assisting people after crisis events or giving focused support to refugees or other vulnerable groups. This paper describes the process that a consortium of four humanitarian organisations followed to develop a training guide for lay counsellors as it was found that no common training curriculum existed.

The first decade of Intervention: facts, figures and trends

This paper aims to explore trends in developments in content and authors’ locations and perspectives in ‘Intervention, the International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict’, from 2003 to 2012. Over this 10 year period, Intervention has published 139 peer reviewed articles, 73 field reports, 36 book reviews and 33 debate papers. The articles cover academic expertise, practical experience and debates on mental health and psychosocial interventions in the aftermath of both natural, and manmade, disasters.

Therapeutic photography: fostering posttraumatic growth in Shan adolescent refugees in northern Thailand

Recent reviews of therapeutic photography have identified the technique's unique ability to transcend culture and language, both essential characteristics of international trauma therapy. This article describes a process, through which youth identified changes in self-perception after a photojournalism workshop, using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach and conducted in a Shan migrant community centre in northern Thailand.

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