Developing Psychosocial Interventions for Children Victims of War Trauma

Objectives To develop evidence-based models of psychosocial interventions related to participants’ agencies, roles and contextual circumstances. Methods Existing key evidence will be briefly considered, including the... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives
To develop evidence-based models of psychosocial interventions related to participants’ agencies, roles and contextual circumstances.

Methods
Existing key evidence will be briefly considered, including the author’s studies in Gaza, Pakistan, Kenya and Turkey for children exposed to war conflict and displacement; as well as with refugee children in the UK. These will be complemented by experiences from the 2015 visits and child trauma training, which led to the 2016 World Awareness for Children in Trauma. The crucial interface between child protection and psychosocial interventions will be highlighted.

Emerging issues, needs, evidence and good practice will be related through interactive learning to the participants’ work and sociocultural context, for them to define, plan or improve existing psychosocial interventions.

Results
Solutions and models will be discussed within an ecological framework of ideally intervening at child, family, school, and community level; although it is acknowledged that this may not be possible in some circumstances. The model will include hierarchical interventions with the aims of:

- Meeting children’s basic needs and safety.
- Resilience-building through education, creative, social and communities activities.
- Counselling and related trauma-focused approaches (universal and targeted).

Conclusions
The participants’ valuable experience will be incorporated into a comprehensive framework that could inform policy, guidelines, services and practice across non-statutory and statutory sectors.