Trauma in War, Trauma in Peace: Human Right to Healing

Trauma Informed Therapeutic Yoga Program for Bhutanese Torture Survivors - A Community Initiative.

STARTTS Masterclass 14 Nov 2018

A continuous recording of the meeting held by STAARTS on Nov 14, 2018

Conversation between Rachel Paran and Yishai Shalif: How faith and spirituality help in coping

In this conversation, Yishai Shalif and Rachel

The secret of resilience: Personality and developmental factors

Resilience refers to successful adaptation despite adversity, ability to overcome hardships and trauma, developmental competencies or even blossoming in harsh conditions. Abundant research is available on the child-family-and society-related factors that enhance resilience in various hardships including parental mental illness, childhood abuse and major trauma of war and terrorism.  In addition to these explanatory factors, it is urgent to understand processes and dynamic mechanisms that underlie the human resilient capacities.

Coping with chronic adverse experience in childhood and adolescence

The paper is based on a long-standing research and clinical work with children and adolescents who were exposed to chronic adverse circumstances linked to war in ex-Yugoslavia, exile and deteriorated social context and to abuse and/or neglect in family. The main groups of factors influencing the outcome of traumatic experience were: dimensions of traumatic experience, child's own resources, family network and the social context. Emotional and cognitive maturity of the child, high self-esteem, secure attachment, child's ability to use spontaneously natural ways of healing like play, dreams, creative expression, were the most often recognized protective factors, while the history of previous trauma and pre-existing psychopathology were the most important vulnerability factors.

Support strategies for women affected by war-related sexualised violence

Medica Mondiale is an international non-governmental organization who supports women and girls who have been sexually violated during war and civil conflict. It also provides services for women affected by other forms of gender-based violence in post-war and conflict zones. medica mondiale built and supports women’s psychosocial and counselling and training centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Liberia and DRCongo and supports small scale psychosocial projects for women affected by violence in Cambodia, East Timor, Iraq, Israel, Nepal, Mexico, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Turkey and Uganda.

Art and Expressive Therapies Group with Assyrian-Chaldean Adolescents

This workshop will present the process and outcomes of therapeutic group intervention for Assyrian-Chaldean  adolescents who experienced dislocation, prolonged exposure to war and associated trauma.

Psychosocial intervention in extreme military violence: Effectiveness in enhancing children's socio-emotional competence

Although researchers agree that war and military violence form a serious burden on child well-being and mental health, many are seeking positive resources and resilience among traumatized children. Our knowledge is increasing about protective and healing processes among traumatized children, and it is time to introduce resilience and positive coping into effective interventions. Accordingly, the presentation focuses on effectiveness of a school-based intervention in enhancing children's socio-emotional competence. The health promotion intervention known as Child-to-Child approach was applied to Palestinian children in Gaza in times of intensive military violence. The method provides children an opportunity to learn about and to teach their peers and younger siblings about basic health care. lt provides strategies, tools and activities that are aimed at increasing personal and collective efficacy. The health promotion strategy is combined with brief cognitive behavioural therapeutic approach to alleviate trauma symptoms.

Family reunification in exile - a challenge for family therapists

Families are often separated by war, conflict and forced migration. Many families have lived through years of uncertainty and suffering, and sometimes also experienced long bureaucratic processes before they are finally reunited in a new society. In addition many family members have been exposed to traumatic events prior to reunification, such as imprisonment, torture and war. The reunification in itself also presents the family with new challenges. Whereas one part of the family has lived in the new country for some time, the newly arrived family member(s) meets the host country for the first time. Finding the way back into family life in a new and complex context, may represent a combination of great joy, relief and difficult stress. Families with these experiences have been interviewed as part of a project on intervention with reunited families.

New Zealand Approaches to the Provision of Mental Health and Well Being Services for People from Refugee Backgrounds

Youth Mentoring: Maximizing Engagement, Improving Resilience and Social Inclusion.

Physical Activity for Health Among Torture and Trauma Survivors: an opportunity for treatment and prevention.

Future In Our Hands: Volleyball Project which Empowered Girls from Refugee Background.

Supporting Wellbeing and Social Inclusion for Young People of Refugee Backgrounds: evaluation of the Ucan2 Program.

How Exposure to Injustice may Impact on Mental Health.

Finding Wellbeing through Cultural Strengths, Empowerment and Trauma Healing: a group for Congolese single women resettling in a regional Australian town.

An Islamic Perspective on Human Development.

Can faith as well as human psychological

Spiritual Dissonance – application to provider and patient care

There is increasing acceptance that the spiritual dimension of humans influences health, especially mental health. But, many people equate the spiritual with religion; others do not. The four domains model of spiritual health/well-being will be presented, with reference to the quality of relationships people have with themselves, others, nature and/or God (PhD, University of Melbourne, 1998).

A successful model of intervention

"lnterpersonal relationships are vital. Without interpersonal bonds neither individual nor species survival would have been possible". (Yalom 2005) "The 'harvest' of group work is change/growth" (Yalom 2005) This symposium would venture to look at the relevance of group interventions as building capacity within the individual of coping and resilience in the face of forced displacement and acculturation. The accompanying mental health issues are implicitly recognised. In Yalom's "The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy" (2005) he speaks of the mechanisms of change within group work: (a) members value deeply acceptance and support they receive from the group (cohesiveness) (b) Members dealing with social isolation may obtain greater benefit from the group (c) The group is an important environment for learning to take place.

Exploring an Eclectic Approach to Establish Best Practice for Clinicians Working with Asylum Seekers Navigating the Immigration Process in New Zealand.

Trauma Informed Therapeutic Yoga Program for Bhutanese Torture Survivors - A Community Initiative.