Blackwell looks at the role of political conflict in creating refugees and introduces us to the vital importance of politics in the therapeutic context. In his discussion of forced migration and cultural transitions, he describes some of the essentials of working cross-culturally, and attunes the therapist to the influence of their own political and cultural context. This is a concise book with many complex issues introduced succinctly and outlined clearly. It ends with chapters on working with interpreters, advocacy and welfare issues, supervision, and a comprehensive list of references and resources.' - Bereavement Care 'It is most welcome to come across this easy-to-read book directed at those with responsibility for counselling or offering psychotherapy to recently arrived immigrants. Although primarily aimed at therapists, as a very broad introduction to working with refugees, it contains material relevant to social workers and health care professionals. This text does succeed in setting out a broad. introduction to the major themes of therapeutic work with refugees.' - British Journal of Social Work 'This excellent book has been written by a psychotherapist and supervisor with many years' experience at the medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, and he explains clearly and concisely the issues experienced by refugees, as well as the different areas of concern for counsellors and psychotherapists working with them. I can wholeheartedly recommend this useful, easy to read, concise and intelligently written book for anyone interested in this area of work.' - Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal 'It is rare to me to read a book in one sitting. But this slim volume more than inspires the concentration and deserves the investment. Do not be put off if you are working directly with refugees. Without doubt, the book fulfils its description as an essential tool to help counselors and psychotherapists engage with the experiences of persecution, violence and exile often faced by refugees. But the book also doubles as a concise and accessible framework for describing the role of psychotherapy in the modern world where `identity' is so problematic that an understanding of the political and cultural context is central to the task. Dick Blackwell has based the book on the work undertaken at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and Organized Violence where he has worked for over 16 years. His experience shines through the straightforward accessible prose with numerous nuggets of wisdom and common sense all delivered in a direct style that manages to avoid the dangers of a polemic. But what makes the book such a gem is his belief, and presumably his experience, that even in the face of appalling atrocity, a willingness to connect, to respect and to learn can build the interpersonal structure where healing can take place.' - Therapeutic Community Journal 'The different experiences of refugees and therapists are documented in separate sections, which make it easy to read. I also like the fact that the author addresses the important and often overlooked challenges of working with interpreters and the dilemma for therapists of becoming advocates. These ongoing challenges are clearly outlined and discussed in a straightforward manner, with useful insights given from the author's own experience. The book is written in a factual and easy-to-follow manner and is accessible enough to be used as a tool in the therapy process as it could be given to a client to enable them to understand the experience of psychotherapy. I found this book to be extremely useful, well laid out and a good basic manual to have on hand when trying to understand the experiences of refugees. I would highly recommend this book as a reference for those working with refugees and as a basic information pack for those who are training or preparing to begin psychotherapy work with refugees.' - Community Care This concise book is an essential tool to help counsellors and psychotherapists understand and engage with the experiences of persecution, violence and exile often faced by refugees. Dick Blackwell's unique framework is based on work carried out at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. It offers a flexible approach to the special circumstances of displaced and traumatized clients from different cultural and political backgrounds. The author considers four levels of experience - political, cultural, interpersonal and intrapsychic - and explores each of these in relation to both the client and therapist. He also includes practical information on advocacy, supervision and working with interpreters.

This book provides a framework to guide mental health providers who work with refugees and immigrants. Nearly 70 million people today are refugees or forcibly-displaced migrants. More than half of them are children suffering from the effects of dislocation and violence. The authors describe the unique needs and challenges of serving these populations, and offer concrete steps for providing evidence-based, culturally-responsive care. Using the socioecological model, the authors conceptualize the developing child as living within concentric circles that include family, school, neighborhood, and society, embedded within a cultural context. Mental health providers identify and provide targeted support to combat disruptions within any or all of these ecological layers. Chapters examine the complex ways in which culture impacts the refugee experience, barriers to engagement in mental health practice and strategies for overcoming them, assessment, collaborative and integrated mental health interventions, and efforts to increase resilience in children, families, and communities. The book is an essential guide for mental health providers, and all who seek to help children in need.

There are more than 26 million refugees in the world, and the population is expected to grow. However, there is minimal training or understanding in the mental health and social services fields that provides the awareness, knowledge, and skills to effectively work with refugees. Subsequently, this volume is intended to provide a comprehensive understanding of refugee psychosocial adjustment that incorporates cross-cultural perspectives. The text provides an all-inclusive overview of refugee acculturation and adaptation, a model of intervention to assist refugees in the process of psychosocial adjustment, case studies illustrating practical intervention applications, and country-specific interventions from unique and diverse national perspectives. Professionals working with refugees in the United States and around the world will value this volume.

The trauma of refugee status is particularly corrosive. It does the usual harm of devastating our own self-image and sense of permanence in the world, but it does more. It is a dislocation from our familiar domestic geography and culture, and that must wrench from our grasp all the external markers by which we know ourselves and our worth. The thre

This book is intended to sensitise psychotherapists, to strengthen practitioners' intercultural competence and to encourage them to form psychotherapeutic relationships with people with an immigration background who are suffering from mental health problems. In this context, intercultural psychotherapy refers to the therapeutic work between psychotherapists and patients who hail from different cultural contexts, which often considerably hampers language- and culture-based understanding. In the current context of globalisation and growing crises around the world, an increasing number of people with a migration background require psychotherapeutic treatment; as a result, intercultural psychotherapy may well become the rule rather than the exception. Psychotherapists are therefore challenged to adapt to such a context. Overcoming these barriers requires certain competencies such as working with a qualified interpreter. Contributions from international experts from the field of intercultural psychotherapy provide vital insights into the theory and practice of intercultural work with patients suffering from conditions such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, personality disorders and schizophrenic disorders. These interdisciplinary specialists describe their work, share valuable lessons learned, and put forward concrete recommendations.

This book outlines the various psychosocial impacts of immigration on cultural identity and its impact on mainstream culture. It examines how cultural identity fits into individual mental health and has to be taken into account in treatment.

The legal and humanitarian response to the world's growing population of refugees and migrants has created more awareness of not only the physical but also the psychological needs of displaced peoples. Refugees are often the forgotten victims of war violence and political upheaval, subjected to the traumatic loss of family and home and the consequent deterioration of cultural identity as they seek asylum in other countries. Ditty Dokter is joined by contributors from a number of multicultural backgrounds, in a volume examining the issues surrounding intercultural arts therapies as a means of working with clients who are refugees and migrants. The role of art, music, dance, and drama in healing the effects of trauma and restoring the sense of cultural and personal identity is discussed, emphasising the need for sensitivity to cultural differences in practice. The ultimate aim is to promote more awareness of intercultural issues in an attempt to build a broader framework for arts therapy practice.