Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Intervention journal is an inclusive open-access scientific journal of mental health and psychosocial support in conflict-affected areas. Our mission & vision It is our mission to strengthen MHPSS practice by documenting work in the field and exchanging knowledge between practitioners, researchers and policy makers. We provide a platform for MHPSS professionals to exchange research with practical implementations and field based evaluations, and a space for practitioners to reflect on their work and share their experiences. The journal aspires to be a platform for active exchange and collaboration between MHPSS practitioners. humanitarians, researchers, mental health care professionals and policy makers. Articles in our journal specifically focus on mental health and psychosocial support in settings with limited formal resources, in chronic adversity, and in complex humanitarian emergencies. The articles are relevant for those working in areas affected by conflict, natural disaster and diseases working with refugees from these areas around the world. https://arq.maglr.com/case-for-support/front-page Our activities are: Publishing two issues per year. Special sections on topics of concern in the field. Webinars. Spotlighting authors' contributions. Translations of specific articles in languages such as Arabic, Dari, Bangla. Support to first-time authors and peer reviewers. Workshops in writing up an article, field report or personal reflection.
∙ Offering psychological assessment, psychosocial support, trauma-sensitive yoga, and trauma-focused therapy (mainly Narrative Exposure Therapy) to undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and victims of sexual exploitation and conflict-related sexual violence. ∙ Offering training and supervision in Narrative Exposure Therapy to clinicians.
Untangling the Mental Health of Forced Migrants and Sexual Violence Survivors Worldwide, the number of people who are forced to leave their homes due to war, confl ict and persecution is increasing. A substantial part of these forced migrants face sexual violence and exploitation. This dissertation aims to make a contribution towards untangling the mental health needs and treatment approaches for this population. In this dissertation, containing two parts, we deploy multiple methods using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Part one centres specifi cally around forced migrants who survived sexual violence, such as sex tra icking, confl ict-related sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse. In this part, we refl ect on the legitimacy of defi nitions of (confl ict-related) sexual violence from a mental health and legal perspective. Additionally, we seek to identify patterns within sex tra icking experiences amongst a clinical sample of survivors and present two subgroups worth considering. Finally, we present a novel body-oriented module to mitigate the increased risk of sexual revictimisation amongst survivors. Using multi-informant and multi-method evaluation we evaluate this module to be feasible in an outpatient mental health clinic. In part two, we fi rst explore how people with lived and/or professional experience conceptualise ‘neglected mental health’ in areas of protracted displacement. In the final chapters, we focus on the treatment process of traumatised forced migrants while engaging in Narrative Exposure Therapy. We conclude that daily stressors and emotion dysregulation seem to be of limited relevance in understanding changes in posttraumatic stress symptoms and treatment adherence.
∙ Offering (research) advice on mental health considerations within an international research consortium on improving healthcare at the intersection of gender and protracted displacement amongst Somali and Congolese refugees and internally displaced people. ∙ Conducting research among people with lived and professional experience on neglected mental health conditions.
- Offering trauma-focussed psychotherapy to rejected asylum seekers suffering from PTSD. - Research development on the psychological impact of Human Trafficking; focussed on understanding psycho-diagnostic profile and its implications for effective psychotherapy.