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The morning sessions focus on the
nature of the armed conflict situations in Africa and the experiences the children and families are
likely to have had. Presenters will also discuss the assessments and interventions they have
practiced, developed, and supported, including psychosocial approaches, trauma based approaches, and cultural
and communal approaches.
Session 1: Psychosocial Approach to Addressing the Needs of Children Affected
by Armed Conflict in Northern Uganda
Stella Ojera, BA
Program Officer for Children Affected by Conflict and Disaster, Save The Children in Uganda
Ms. Ojera’s experience as a relief worker, social worker and administrator of a major psychosocial
rehabilitation center in northern Uganda will provide the foundation for her session on psychological,
social, spiritual, cultural, and economic issues affecting children abducted into armed conflicts
and how psychosocial programs address the multifaceted needs of these children. This presentation and
discussion will provide good background understanding of the issues of children forced into armed conflict
for those who are working with such issues.
Session 2: Assessment and Treatment Issues for Children Affected by Armed
Conflict: Effects on Children, Family and Culture
Joan Lesser, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Smith College School for
Social Work
This session will address how to assess and treat trauma in children. The concepts of cultural
trauma, post traumatic cultural reaction, cultural bereavement and post traumatic stress disorder will
be discussed within a cultural context. Developmental assessment of traumatized children will
be addressed. This will include attention to traumagenic states that are addressed in the treatment
of children, such as feelings of powerlessness, loss and betrayal, stigmatization, and self blame among
others. The presentation will also attend to the issue of trauma bonds, an especially important
concept given the relationships that these children may have developed with their captors. A variety
of treatment techniques
that address the physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains will be offered.
Session 3: Assessment, Development and Evaluation of Psychosocial Programs
for Children Affected by Armed Conflicts
Martha Bragin, LCSW, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justicce, City University of New York; Clinical and Research Faculty in Social Work of the International Program in Refugee Trauma, (IPORT) at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
This session will provide an overview of the assessment, development, necessary components of, and
measuring the effectiveness of programs for children forced into armed conflict. Dr. Bragin is clinical a social
worker and researcher who has assessed and developed psychosocial programs in Uganda, Angola,
Liberia and Afghanistan. Her work and writing clearly connects psychodynamic principles with the development
of culturally based psychological assessments.
Session 4: Practice Issues: Working with Immigrant and Refugee Children
and Families Affected by Extreme Violence
Eugenie Mukeshima, BA, graduate student in Holocaust and Genocide studies at West Chester University, PA
This presentation will address the resettlement issues and needs of refugees both in Africa and in the US when they come from situations of extreme violence and extreme torture practices. Ms. Mukeshima will address the culture of war and the changes in psychological, social, cultural practices and interactions resulting from this culture. This is an adaptation that service providers and clinicians in countries receiving these immigrants may not be informed about. Some individuals exposed to this violence are able to discard these coping strategies; others have more difficulty. Service providers and practitioners working with children and families from situations of extreme violence need to know about this culture and particularly how to interact with those with these experiences. Ms. Mukeshima’s experiences with refugee women and children in Rwanda provide an insight into what many refugees and immigrants are faced with in a world that knows little or nothing about their world.
Session 5: Psychological Assessment and Evaluation of War Affected Children in Low-Resource Contexts: The Development of the Acholi Psychosocial Assessment Instrument for War-Affected Children in Northern Uganda and its use in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Mental Health Interventions
Theresa Stichick Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A., Assistant Professor of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Center for International Health and Development
The afternoon breakout sessions
will include presenters from agencies responsible for the resettlement of refugee, asylee and immigrant
populations in the U.S. and with the African countries experiencing the conflict. Presentations will
focus on the psychosocial issues for these populations and the psychosocial work that is provided.
Several presentations will also address the issues of reconciliation and peacebuilding as recovery
for war-affected children and families.
Session 1: Resettlement of Immigrant and Refugee Populations: Addressing
the Biopsychosocial Dimensions
Panel Presentation from Jewish Family Services – Springfield,
MA
Karina Bogdanis, MSW JFS Clinical Director
Hanh Bui, MSW JFS Clinician
Mohamed Mohamud, MPH JFS Program Coordinator
Three staff members of the New American Program at Jewish Family Services that is designed to support
the effective settlement of refugees and immigrants to the U.S. will present on their experiences and
the psycho-social issues facing Vietnamese, African and Russian-speaking refugees and immigrants residing
in Western MA. Roughing one half of all African and slightly less than a third of all new arrival refugees
and immigrants to Massachusetts reside in western Massachusetts. Services provided by the New American
Program include case management, family reunification, federal refugee assistance, employment, acculturation,
housing, access to medical and educational services and counseling. In addition, a special program
for seniors helps refugees over age 60 adjust to their new community.
Session 2: Interrupting the Cycle of Violence: Individual and Collective
Reconciliation
Adin Thayer, MSW, Karuna Center for Peacebuilding
When communities are torn apart by inter-group violence, emotional wounds result that live on until
they are addressed. This discussion will focus on the ways in which these wounds can trap people in
cycles of repeating violence, as those who have been violated become violators in the name of “justice”. The
session will explore the stages groups and individuals may move through in the process of leaving these
cycles behind. Attention will be given to the reconciliation that occurs both within the individual
and within the group, and the critical role of collective action for acknowledgement, truth and justice,
as well as emotional healing processes, in rebuilding and strengthening community. This session is
appropriate for those concerned with populations that survive violence and stay in the same communities
or move into exile in camps and other countries.
Session 3: Multicultural and Diversity-Related Challenges and Perspectives
in Working with Refugee and Immigrant Populations: The Makings of Culturally Informed Practice and
Culturally Reflective Practitioners
Khalilah Karim-Rushdan, LCSW; Ay Ling Han, Ph.D., Smith College Counseling Center
In our presentation, we will share our perspectives on the makings of our culturally informed practices,
including the reflective dimensions of our work with our clients, highlighting and exploring commonalities
and differences in our perspectives and approaches. We will also invite participants to reflect
on and explore their own clinical practice, both as clinicians of color and white clinicians.
Session 4: Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Connections to clinical practice
Father Remigio Obol, Parish Priest Gulu Archidiocese, Founder EPPOVHA
Joanne Corbin, Ph.D., M.S.S., Associate Professor at Smith College School for Social Work
Social work principles will be discussed in relation to peacebuilding and reconciliation. The importance of individual, family, and community peacebuilding will be presented as cornerstones for effective therapeutic intervention for children affected by armed conflict in the countries where armed conflict is taking place as well as those who have resettled in the U.S. This presentation examines the role of spiritually in the recovery process of individuals and communities
that have been affected by armed conflict. The spiritual world, including the connection to ancestors,
is often seamlessly integrated into the daily lives of many populations coming from areas of armed
conflicts. The support for reestablishing lives post-conflict must include awareness, cultural practices
and activities designed to support the individual’s and community’s connection to the spiritual
world.
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