This phenomenological study aims to better understand the applicability of Dance/Movement therapy for traumatised women asylum seekers and refugees. It explores if and how bodily engagement could support an existing resilience based treatment model employed at a centre for transcultural psychiatry in the Netherlands. The sessions focused on moving the body and included the use of music, props, mirroring techniques, body awareness and movement exploration exercises. Participation in the sessions was associated with self-reported alleviation of stress and addressed vulnerabilities. Additionally, movement and bodily engagement offered opportunities for body awareness, and interconnectedness with other group members. A key finding was that Dance/Movement therapy provided a shared safe psychological space for self-expression among this vulnerable population, and can be incorporated into a resilience based treatment programme with adaptations for context.
Sudan has endured the longest civil war in Africa, with ongoing conflict since 1983. As a result, it has one of the largest internally displaced populations on the continent. The gap in care for mental health in Sudan is large, therefore, most of the people affected do not have access to the treatment they need (World Helath Organization, 2009). Mental health facilities in current day Sudan are few and concentrated in urban centres, where they are difficult to access and lack adequately trained professionals who are, in particular, lacking training for trauma related disorders. The objectives of this intervention were to bridge the gap in mental health psychosocial support services in Sudan by setting up a community based, nongovernmental trauma mental health centre providing free mental health services, in addition to mental health professional capacity building. This paper addresses difficulties and opportunities in providing mental health and psychosocial support in country torn by war and political embargo. Furthermore, it includes how to incorporate cultural adaption encompassing Afro/Arab cultures with a focus on gender and political sensitive approaches in introducing psychosocial support and specialised trauma services.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered armed conflict for over 20 years, with the eastern provinces being particularly impacted by destruction and structural violence. The consequences of this ongoing violence are visible on the streets and in the homes of the people, as well as specifically affecting the minds of the country’s youth. This personal reflection highlights the work of a psychologist at a vocational training centre in Bukavu. The most often heard complaints among the students at that centre are the lack of basic needs, the struggle to survive, extreme stress, and loss of hope and control. Cultural aspects and the impact of structural violence are discussed as explanations for existing attitudes of helplessness. Resilience enhancing interventions are described as programmes that have shown promise for students in Bukavu, in order to regain control over their daily lives and hope for the future.
This is a personal reflection concerning the migration crisis in Europe and its political repercussions on migration policies around the globe. Instead of the usual focus on analyses of needs, this article examines a variety of philosophical categories, such as objectification, abjectification as well as political paradigms, including the risk management approach to governance. It further examines how philosophical categories can be used to read situations in a manner that can be useful to guide psychosocial practitioners, and that can be both intrinsically and necessarily interlinked with migration policies, in order to avoid compromise and not be complicit in creation of spaces of vulnerability for migrants.
© Intervention Journal of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict Affected Areas | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
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