Rapid Assessments of Mental Health Needs After Disasters
Screening for PTSD among survivors of disasters in developing countries, especially in acute situations, has faced a number of common criticisms; psychological trauma is a western concept that may be unfamiliar to other cultures. PTSD has limited diagnostic validity because culturally diverse communities do not have equivalent terms for the constellation or for the individual symptom domains of the disorder (4 pages).
Study Group Guide for Psychotherapy with Torture Survivors
Andrea Northwood, CVT. This guide was developed over the course of several study groups. It contains the curriculum used for the nine group meetings, each of which focuses on a core component of psychotherapy with survivors of politically motivated torture who are living in exile. While it is useful to have case material from which to learn, it is not necessary to be doing clinical work with torture survivors in order to use this curriculum.
http://www.healtorture.org/sites/healtorture.org/files/2-StudyGuideWord.pdf
Evaluation of psychological support for victims of sexual violence in a conflict setting: results from Brazzaville, Congo
Little is known about the impact of psychological support in war and transcultural contexts and in particular, whether there are lasting benefits. This article present an evaluation of the late effect of post-rape psychological support provided to women in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
http://www.ijmhs.com/content/3/1/7
Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence
Health professionals can use the guidelines as a day-to-day service document and/or as a tool to guide the development of health services for victims of sexual violence. The guidelines can also be used to prepare in-service training courses on sexual violence for health care practitioners and other members of multidisciplinary teams.
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/924154628X.pdf
Shattered lives – Immediate medical care vital for sexual violence victims
Finding immediate care is critically important after a sexual assault. The provision of medical care within days after rape is vital to limit serious consequences for the victims: treatment to prevent HIV infection has to start within three days, emergency contraception is possible within five.
http://www.msf.org.uk/sites/uk/files/Shattered_lives_2nd_Ed_June_2009_200907153112.pdf
Handbook for repatriation and reintegration Activities
The Handbook for Repatriation and Reintegration Activities (the Handbook) is a guide for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and partner staff in the field to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate repatriation and reintegration activities.
Conflict, Disaster, Homicide – Mental health reform in post-conflict areas: a policy analysis based on experiences in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo.
This policy analysis provides insight into the ongoing process of mental health reform and the difficulty of sustaining such reform in post-conflict areas. It is based on experiences in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia.
Planning needs and services after collective trauma: should we look for the symptoms of PTSD?
The incidence of PTSD After the Madrid March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks, ranged from what can be expected as a normal prevalence in general population in Spain under non-traumatic conditions to values that, when applied to the general population, could be considered a dramatic epidemic of PTSD. These results demonstrate that inferences about the impact of traumatic events on the general population largely depend on the measure, definition and criteria used by the researcher. Slightly changing the criteria for PTSD makes an enormous difference to the amount of traumatization that is found ( Intervention 2007, Volume 5, Number 1).
http://www.interventionjournal.com/sites/default/files/vazquez.pdf
Appraisal of psychosocial interventions in Liberia
This article presents the methodology and results of a study on the effectiveness of two psychosocial interventions targeting female victims of war related and sexual violence in Liberia. One intervention provided counseling, the other offered support groups and skill training. Qualitative research suggests that the participants of both interventions were positive with regard to the help provided (Intervention 2007, Volume 5, Number 1, Page 18 26).
http://www.interventionjournal.com/sites/default/files/de%20beus.pdf
Psychosocial interventions for children in war-affected areas: the state of the art
In this article the literature on psychosocial assistance to children in war-affected areas is reviewed. Two main types of interventions are identified: the curative approach and the developmental approach. The effectiveness of each of these approaches is discussed.( Intervention 2007, Volume 5, Number 1, Page 3 – 17)