Pema Chödrön leads a Support Program for Activists

Practicing Peace in Times of War with Pema Chödrön is a beautiful offering in line with the philosophy of Sustainable Resilience. Everything from a lecture in New York City to "a ground-breaking year-long support program for activists working with intense human suffering."

Books and articles on the impact on families

This Story in the Hartford Courant discusses issues around transitioning back to civilian life from deployment.

For a deeper treatment of this topic check out these titles by Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D.:

Vietnam Wives: Facing the Challenges of Life with Veterans Suffering Post-Traumatic Stress
Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family

Returning vets' unemployment up from 10 to 23 % since 2000

Read here about this trend.

The Military Looks for New Treatments

The military is scrambling for new ways to treat the brain injuries
and post-traumatic stress of troops returning home from war. And every
kind of therapy -- no matter how far outside the accepted medical form
-- is being considered. The Army just unveiled a $4 million program to
investigate everything from "spiritual ministry, transcendental
meditation, [and] yoga" to "bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, [and]
distant healing" to mend the psyches of wounded troops. ...

The Defense Department "is dedicated to supporting evidence-based
approaches to medical treatment and wants to support the use of
alternative therapies if they are proven efficacious," notes a
recently-issued request for proposals.

But many of these treatments haven't been held up to much rigorous
scientific scrutiny before. So the Army is looking to hand out $4
million in "seedling grants" to "conduc[t] rigorous clinical studies"
into all sorts of "novel approaches." Projects "containing preliminary
data" will be eligible for up to $1 million. But even "innovative but
testable hypotheses without preliminary data" could get as much as
$300,000. Proposals are due May 15.

Traumatic Stress and Resiliency Resources drawn from Military Psychiatry

You can find a wealth of trauma-related resources through the website for the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. Dr. Robert J. Ursano is the Director, and he is a crucial contributor to the military and civilian literature for trauma recovery.

As part of the Department of Psychiatry of our federal medical school, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), the Center was established in 1987 as a public private partnership of USUHS and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.

One example of the PDF resources that you can find is the Stress Management Guidelines for Leaders.

What is at stake?

Preventing trauma should be given much more weight in foreign policy decisions. Addressing trauma is also of increasing relevance. This video describes the uptick in veteran suicides.

Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and the Rationale underlying Somatic Therapies for Stress

Greetings readers. I am currently undergoing advanced training in Trauma Sensitive Yoga with a group at the Justice Resource Institute (http://www.traumacenter.org/). So I want to share with you how somatic therapies can critically complement standard verbal, cognitive therapies (“talk therapy”) for addressing traumatic stress.

Even if you don’t identify as being “traumatized,” consider that one important definition of traumatic stress is “stress that overwhelms our coping mechanisms for a period of time.” Most of us can relate to feeling overwhelmed temporarily.

Here is a way to get to know psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk's thinking behind treating trauma via somatic therapies. The first paper by van der Kolk (http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk4.php) is a classic in the field of Trauma and sets the stage for the importance of engaging the body, the physical self, in the context of treatment.

The second piece by Dr. van der Kolk (http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/NYASF.pdf) is a very recent look at the neurobiology of trauma and also includes the first of its kind yoga study.

WELCOME SIDDHARTH!

Ladies and gentlemen, please expect to see postings henceforward from time to time from my talented colleague, Dr. Siddharth Ashvin Shah, who is an expert on Sustainable Resilience.

training in italy

Register for the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma's training courses in November (Italy) and December (online).

Dr Mollica on why story is so key to recovery

Read here about why stories are the mind's modality for processing trauma - and the key to healing.

Click here to read about Dr. Mollica's excellent book.

The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma is about to become available for registration for a course in Italy in November.

Trauma and Transformation course

IPCR Skills Institute Program: Trauma and Transformation
When: 4pm Friday, March 28 2008 to 5pm Sunday, March 30 2008
Where: American University, Washington DC
Speaker: Nancy Good Sider
Contact: ipcrskills@american.edu, 202-885-1622

Combining theory and experiential learning, this course is designed to provide participants with an overview of trauma, trauma healing and transformation. Participants will explore the social-psychological-physical-spiritual processes of responding to deep personal loss, pain and suffering in settings of protracted, traumatic conflict, as well as examine recently developed healing approaches of individuals and communities who move from violence to trauma healing and resilience.
Understanding the complex issues that trauma surfaces, this course highlights the importance of integrating traumatic study into the field of peacebuilding, since unhealed trauma often continues the cycle of violence. Participants will explore the theoretical bases through case studies from a variety of international settings and engage in practical exercises to demonstrate approaches to trauma resilience and recovery.

KNOCKOUT LINEUP OF RESOURCES

Folks, I hit the jackpot today. See below for phenomenal current resources. -Atieno

Africa: Mental Health Research - Falling Through the Gaps
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801250553.html

Evaluation of Community-Based Mental Health Program in Indonesia
This is an evaluation of a JSI - led mental health improvement program in post -
tsunami Aceh, Indonesia.
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=188580101&u=1898884

IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings
http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/content/products/docs/Guidelines%20IASC%20Mental%20Health%20Psychosocial.pdf

These guidelines reflect the insights of practitioners from various regions
disciplines and sectors, and reflect an emerging consensus on good practice
among practitioners. The core idea behind this is that, in an early phase of an
emergency, social supports are essential to protect and support mental health
and psychosocial well-being. In addtion, the guidelines recommend selected
psychological and psychiatric interventions for specific problems.

PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: Challenges in Aid to Rape Victims: The Case of the Democratic Republic of Congo
by Marleen Bosmans

The Saint Camille de Lellis Association in Bouake, Ivory Coast, an NGO, was
founded 23 years ago by Gregoire Ahongbonon. The association now has 10 centers
providing mental health and a much broader range of social services, including
mental and physical rehabilitation, vocational training and housing, but always
dealing first with the 'mentally ill'.
http://www.fondazione-st-camille.org/a-eng/Fondazione/Scopi.html

Overview of CDC's activities in conflict-affected settings
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ierh/ResearchandSurvey/Mental_%20Health.htm

Overvew of Center for Victims of Torture in West Africa When political violence
intentionally destroys a community, as it has in Sierra Leone and Liberia, the
community itself must heal for peace and democracy to flourish. CVT West Africa
is designed to provide mental health and social services in an effective,
efficient and sustainable fashion.
http://www.cvt.org/file.php?ID=5823

The Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) was established in 1982 as part of the
University of Oxford?s International Development Centre at Queen Elizabeth
House. It has since won an international reputation as the leading
multidisciplinary centre for research and teaching on the causes and
consequences of forced migration.
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/

The World Bank: Information on Mental Health and Development
http://go.worldbank.org/9TPBJ6ICF0

American Red Cross Conference Washington DC Jan. 30-31, 2008
"Psychosocial Programming in Response to the 2004 Tsunami"
This conference brought together leaders in international psychosocial support
efforts from the academic, UN and NGO communities in order to discuss how recent
efforts to respond to the mental health and psychosocial needs of
disaster-affected individuals has informed our common understanding of
psychosocial programming.
PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: ARC PSP Conference Agenda

Healing the War: Youth as a Key to Sustainable Post-Conflict Recovery Geneva
Dec. 10-12, 2007
Healing the War is an international Meeting to advance psychosocial practices
within a holistic, multidisciplinary
vision.
PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: Healing the War_Context Paper

Presentation given by Paul Francis, Sr. Social Scientist, World Bank to Social
Development Division, MENA Region
PPT AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME

How Psychosocial Sport & Play Programs Help Youth Manage Adversity: A Review of
What We Know & What We Should Research
By Robert Henley, Ph.D., Ivo Schweizer, M.A., Francesco de Gara, M.A., Stefan
Vetter, M.D.
http://www.psychosocial.com/IJPR_12/Psychological_Sport_and_Play_Henley.html

Reform of mental health care in Serbia: ten steps plus one
By Dusica Lecic Tosevski, Milica Pejovic Milovancevic, Smiljka Popovic Deusic
PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: reform of mental health care in Serbia

Improving the outcomes of primary care attenders with common mental disorders in
developing countries: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a collaborative
stepped care intervention in Goa, India
By Vikram H Patel, Betty R Kirkwood, Sulochana Pednekar, Ricardo Araya, Michael
King, Daniel Chisholm, Gregory Simon & Helen Weiss
PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: Improving_outccomes_of_PC_with_CMD_Goa

Karenni refugees living in Thai?Burmese border camps: traumatic experiences,
mental health outcomes, and social functioning
By Barbara Lopes Cardozo, Leisel Talley, Ann Burton & Carol Crawford
PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: mh and functioning post war afghanistan

Mental health patterns and consequences : results from survey data in five
developing countries
By Jishnu Das, Quy-Toan Do, Jed Friedman, & David McKenzie
PAPER AVAILABLE IF YOU WRITE TO ME: wps4495

MSN Story on Institutions for people with mental disabilities
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=d696b0b7-632a-4c7d-9637-7663c73b001c

Traumatized children - a course for parents

The Training Institute of The Trauma Center is offering a training called "Trauma-Informed Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Dyadic Treatment for Children and Their Caregivers" in Boston in the third weeks of April and May. For more info and to register click here

Mental Health Research Charity event

A local mental health research symposium will be held Sunday, March 30. Morning session entitled "PTSD: From Battlefront to Homefront" should be interesting.

Report on Violence against Disabled Children

Released in 2005:

Violence against Disabled Children
UN Secretary Generals Report on Violence against Children
Thematic Group on Violence against Disabled Children
Findings and Recommendations
Convened by UNICEF at the United Nations, New York
July 28, 2005

To obtain a copy:

Nora Ellen Groce, PhD
Global Health Division
Yale School of Public Health
60 College Street
New Haven, Connecticut
USA 06520
E-mail:
Phone: 203-785-2866
FAX: 203-785-6193
OR
Corrie Paeglow, MPH
Research Associate
Yale School of Public Health

Anti-war rally in front of White House today

Wednesday March 19
1:30pm
Lafayette Park

FIVE YEARS IN IRAQ

Since coverage of the war has shrunk to almost nothing, the five year anniversary might be a good time to read:

Soldiers' own accounts of what war is like.

A history of the spin surrounding each year.

About the question of when the administration actually made the decision to invade.

A record of civilian deaths.

Senator Byrd's impassioned plea to resist war:
"I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. ...There is a pervasive sense of rush and risk and too many questions unanswered. How long will we be in Iraq? What will be the cost? What is the ultimate mission? How great is the danger at home? A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq. ...What is happening to this country? When did we become a nation which ignores and berates our friends? When did we decide to risk undermining international order by adopting a radical and doctrinaire approach to using our awesome military might? How can we abandon diplomatic efforts when the turmoil in the world cries out for diplomacy? Why can this President not seem to see that America's true power lies not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire?"

Senator McCain's response to Senator Byrd:
"when the people of Iraq are liberated, we will again have written another chapter in the glorious history of the United States of America, ...the people of Iraq, for the first time, will be able to realize [their] inalienable rights. I am proud of the United States of America. I am proud of the leadership of the President of the United States. ...we will find there are still massive amounts of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

Strength-based Social Work in South Africa

The point made by this article on social work in South Africa is extremely relevant for those offering psychosocial services in relief and development contexts.

The article highlights the need to "move away from a psychosocial and physiological focus on clients’ lives framed by a remedial model, towards expanding people’s capabilities and improving their socio-economic circumstances." Some authors think a strength-based approach, which "focuses on resilience to adversity, personal accomplishment and development through surmounting past difficulties, reinforcement of the expectations and aspirations held by people, and utilizing the assets, resources and knowledge of the individual, family, group and community," represents a "dramatic departure from conventional social work," which "operates on a deficit model which spotlights clients’ weaknesses and inabilities."

Also claims that: "The processes of colonialism followed by neo-colonialism in the guise of globalization," in which they include "conditionalities of IMF and World Bank lending under the Structural Adjustment Programmes of the 1980s and 1990s," have "created and exacerbated many of the underlying constraints on African social and economic development."

It goes on to list coping strategies impoverished households use, and asserts that South African social workers rightly use "socio-economic rather than psycho-social interventions," which are "at a considerable remove from the dominant casework paradigm of Anglo–American social work:"

"The literature reveals that some of the most effective strategies are built around reciprocal exchanges of resources within communities, the pooling of community resources as a whole, the intricate domestic and economic collaboration of intergenerational households, and the diversification of livelihoods. Concomitantly, the interventions typically employed across Africa to address the problems of disadvantaged groups are those comprising micro-financing, short-term vocational training, functional literacy, school sponsorship, intermediate technology transfer and community-based approaches. The skills required for these activities include those associated with outreach and targeting, skills transfer, basic accounting, technical applications and community development, all within the rubric of multi-agency inputs and co-ordination. These bear only passing resemblance to the tasks and competencies of social workers in developed countries. Moreover, they comprise a skills base which marks a clear departure from the psycho-social assessments of remedial casework and the provision of welfare services.
The social and economic aspects of social problems are explicitly linked by African professionals through the deployment of such interventions as micro-financing, skills transfer and intermediate technology."

I take from this that when survival strategies are foremost, even psychosocial matters revolve around them, and so must psychosocial interventions.

Tsunami catalyzed new network of helpers/resources

The Mangrove is a "network established by institutions and individuals providing psychosocial support to persons affected by the tsunami disaster of 26th December 2004 and its aftermath. The primary functions of 'The Mangrove' are to coordinate and enhance the quality of psychosocial response for the Batticaloa district."

Tons of resources.

Violent behavior: Is junk food a culprit?

No way, right? Right??
Well take a look at these findings.

Forgiveness one key to healing

Great quotes and the results of studies on forgiveness can be found on Dr. Richard Petty's fabulous blog.

know any heroic women peacemakers??

The University of San Diego has issued a call for proposals for women peacemakers to receive an 8-week residency. Jointly constructing a multi-media narrative and lots of other cool outputs are involved.

COMBAT TRAUMA AND PTSD

An incredibly rich resource: the healing combat trauma blog. "Resources for and about healing combat trauma. The focus is on effective medical, psychological and legal care, and the slant is apolitical."

Stories for Change has a new website!

Stories for Change believes helping people construct their narratives changes them - and the world - for the better.

tons of free resources on treating trauma

Headington offers "care for caregivers worldwide."

Iraq Humanitarian Crisis

The 3D Security Initiative is helping to plan an all-day Forum on the Humanitarian Crisis Facing Iraqis with more than 20 national organizations, including those operating inside Iraq and in the Middle East region.

Learn how digital storytelling can help your group!

Do you have a resilience story to tell? An upcoming lecture in DC by a digital storytelling expert will cover how to use story in furthering your organization's objectives!

Indian activist speaking in DC this Friday on minority protection

Check out Hashmi:
Known for confronting Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian communalism, Hashmi has established herself as one of the most courageous peace activists ever known. Her father was a freedom fighter against British rule; her brother was hunted down in a politically-motivated assassination. Since the carnage in Gujarat in 2002, when thousands were hunted down and made examples of, she has worked tirelessly to bring justice to the victims and re-establish a secular ethos in Gujarat. Hashmi's example as a peace activist and her continued battle for justice for victims of religious violence, especially women, makes her a must-meet while she is in DC. Details:

WHO: Shabnam Hashmi, executive director of ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy), is an internationally respected activist in the area of India's minority-majority relations and human rights. With more than 25 years of experience working on issues of religious violence and conflict resolution in India, Hashmi has the power to convene a diverse range of intellectuals and cultural activists.

WHAT: Slide presentation entitled "Threat to democracy in India and the cultural resistance" + Time for informal dialogue with Shabnam.

WHEN: March 21, Friday 6-9pm

WHERE: Center for Integrative Medicine, 908 New Hampshire, Suite 200, Washington DC 20037 [one block away from Foggy Bottom/GWU metro station; building in the triangle formed by 24th, Eye St., and New Hampshire]

HOW: You must RSVP early to pawb99@gmail.com for this event. Space is limited to 25 people, and therefore last-minute arrivals cannot be accommodated. You are encouraged to strategically invite people who, by attending this event, might be able to advance India's human rights and protection of minorities. Don't forget that invitees must RSVP also.

FURTHER DETAILS
6 pm Informal conversations with Shabnam + Tea and Refreshments
6:30 Formal Slide Presentation
8 pm More Tea and informal dialogue

A traumatized minority in our midst

One group that is forced to find extra resilience in facing daily life are young people in conformist settings that are hated and harrassed for the sexual orientation they were born with. This week's syndicated column by Dan Savage, tells heartbreaking stories of ordinary people facing extraordinary stress with little support, and one hopeful story.

Psychosocial Assistance Without Borders

Check out this great organization: http://www.pawb99.blogspot.com/

PAWB's mission is to provide definitive training and support that sustains relief workers who work selflessly in our world’s crisis situations.


In December 2005, PAWB trained nearly 200 earthquake relief workers in Pakistan. It has done various consulations and trainings with several organizations in India.


All too often, relief workers, volunteers, and caregivers are overworked, or they are underprepared to provide psychosocial treatment. PAWB’s goal is to ensure that we retain these workers (rather than burn them out), and teach them sustainable, culturally-appropriate ways to give disaster victims psychosocial first aid.

Amen to that! -Atieno

Meeting psychosocial needs in developing countries

Does it make sense to treat depression and anxiety in contexts where people are struggling to get their basic needs met? Aren't depression and anxiety just Western constructs anyway? If people cannot afford necessities how are they supposed to afford a psychiatrist?

The following article speaks to these questions and presents preliminary findings in a study conducted in India. Turns out that anxiety is a universal human experience, and that being supported and heard is universally therapeutic. Stressed out people can be helped by someone with basic training; they don't need an expensive psychiatrist.

This is great news, given the extreme psychosocial needs of people who have suffered the losses associated with conflict and poverty. It is also great news for humanitarian agencies or other companies who are concerned with preventing burnout and trauma reactions in their staff.

It is my belief that a group support model would be even more effective than a one-on-one model. More on this later.

Read about this here.