Forced Migration And Social Trauma

Forced Migration and Social Trauma addresses the topic of social trauma and migration by bringing together a broad range of interdisciplinary and international contributors, comprising refugee care practitioners, trauma researchers, sociologists and specialists in public policy from all along the Balkan refugee route into Europe. It gives the essence of a moderated dialogue between psychologists and psychoanalysts, sociologists, public policy and refugee care experts. Migration is connected to social trauma and cannot be handled without being aware of this context. The way refugees are treated in the transit or target countries is often determined by the socio-traumatic history of these countries. Social trauma can be collectively committed and perpetuated, leaving transgenerational traces in posttraumatic and attachment disorders, uprootedness and loss of social and political confidence. Media and cultural artefacts like press, TV and the internet influence collective coping as well as traumatic perpetuation. This book shows how xenophobia in the refugee receiving or transit countries can be caused by projection rather than by experience, and that the way refugees are received and regarded in a country may be connected to the country’s cultural‐traumatic history. Refugees, who are often individually and collectively traumatised, experience multiple re-enactments; however, such retraumatisations between refugees and receiving populations or institutions often remain unaddressed. The split between welcoming and hostile attitudes sometimes leads to unconscious institutional defences, such as lack of cooperation between medical, psychotherapeutic, humanitarian and legal institutions. An interdisciplinary and international exchange on migration and social trauma is necessary on all levels – this book gives convincing examples of this dialogue. Forced Migration and Social Trauma will be of great interest to all who are involved in the modern issues of refuge and migration.

Although forced migration is not new in human history it has become, in our time, one of the world's major problems. In the last few decades, armed conflict and political unrest have created vast numbers of asylum seekers, refugees and displaced persons. This has led, in turn to increasing involvement of professional care workers and agencies, both governmental and nongovernmental. While there is no doubt on the part of helping parties that care is necessary, there is considerable debate about the kind of care that is needed. This book presents a critical review of mental health care provisions for people who have had to leave their homeland, and explores the controversies surrounding this topic. Providing fresh perspectives on an age old problem, this book covers humanitarian aid and reconstruction programs as well as service provision in host countries. It is of interest to all those who provide health services, create policy, and initiate legislation for these populations.

This book provides an overview of recent trends in the management of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorders that may ensue from distressing experiences associated with the process of migration. Although the symptoms induced by trauma are common to all cultures, their specific meaning and the strategies used to deal with them may be culture-specific. Consequently, cultural factors can play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with psychological reactions to extreme stress. This role is examined in detail, with an emphasis on the need for therapists to bear in mind that different cultures often have different concepts of health and disease and that cross-cultural communication is therefore essential in ensuring effective care of the immigrant patient. The therapist’s own intercultural skills are highlighted as being an important factor in the success of any treatment and specific care contexts and the global perspective are also discussed.

Forced migration has become an inescapable reality of our world in the 21stcentury. Why? The traumatic experiences of refugees are key to understanding why people keep on the move despite enormous risks. This book sheds light into the psychological impact entailed in refugee trajectories. With findings mainly from Eritrean refugee communities in multiple locations, the underpinning research reveals alarming levels of individual and collective trauma. The book outlines a new approach for treatment: Trauma, Recovery, Understanding, Self-Help Therapy TRUST. The intervention was developed as a practical and low resource support to traumatised vulnerable refugees. TRUST utilises information technology to reduce levels of trauma, enabling refugees to build social and economic resilience as an alternative to pursuing risky migratory trajectories. The study concludes that providing psycho-social support is a more prudent alternative to managing forced migration and avoiding the use of hostile refugee polices that expose refugees to more trauma and put them at risk of heinous organised crimes including human trafficking. TRUST resulted in significant positive outcomes for refugee wellbeing even in deprived refugee camps.

This book explores the intersection of clinical and social aspects of traumatic experiences in postdictatorial and post-war societies, forced migration, and other circumstances of collective violence. Contributors outline conceptual approaches, treatment methods, and research strategies for understanding social traumatizations in a wider conceptual frame that includes both clinical psychology and psychiatry. Accrued from a seven year interdisciplinary and international dialogue, the book presents multiple scholarly and practical views from clinical psychology and psychiatry to social and cultural theory, developmental psychology, memory studies, law, research methodology, ethics, and education. Among the topics discussed: Theory of social trauma Psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic approaches to social trauma Memory studies Developmental psychology of social trauma Legal and ethical aspects Specific methodology and practice in social trauma research Social Trauma: An International Textbook fills a critical gap between clinical and social theories of trauma, offering a basis for university teaching as well as an overview for all who are involved in the modern issues of victims of social violence. It will be a useful reference for students, teachers, and researchers in psychology, medicine, education, and political science, as well as for therapists and mental health practitioners dealing with survivors of collective violence, persecution, torture and forced migration.

The growth of the world's refugee population has been a major phenomenon of the late twentieth century. This volume brings together senior authors from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to analyse the key forces that shape the contemporary experience of forced migration. It considers global, social and personal dimensions of displacement, demonstrating their close interrelationship in forging the experience of refuge. Recurrent themes include the importance o f valuing the resources, capacities and meanings indigenous to refugee communities, and the intimate linkage of the personal and political in the lives of refugees. In addition to providing deeper insight into the challenges and tensions of the refugee experience, the book seeks to provide a foundation for more informed debate on refugee assistance and asylum policies and practice.

This report is concerned with reviewing psychosocial concepts in research related to humanitarian work, with particular emphasis on research related to children affected by prolonged violence and armed conflict.

As a concept, 'trauma' has attracted a great deal of interest in literary studies. A key term in psychoanalytic approaches to literary study, trauma theory represents a critical approach that enables new modes of reading and of listening. It is a leading concept of our time, applicable to individuals, cultures, and nations. This book traces how trauma theory has come to constitute a discrete but influential approach within literary criticism in recent decades. It offers an overview of the genesis and growth of literary trauma theory, recording the evolution of the concept of trauma in relation to literary studies. In twenty-one essays, covering the origins, development, and applications of trauma in literary studies, Trauma and Literature addresses the relevance and impact this concept has in the field.