Community-Based Psychosocial Interventions for Refugees Living in Australia

In Australia, a variety of community-based approaches has been pursued in addition to individual therapeutic interventions in order to assist in dealing with refugee trauma recovery and resettlement issues. NSW STARTTS, for... [ view full abstract ]

In Australia, a variety of community-based approaches has been pursued in addition to individual therapeutic interventions in order to assist in dealing with refugee trauma recovery and resettlement issues. NSW STARTTS, for example, conducts community development activities in addition to clinical approaches which are seen as complementary responses to address the impact of trauma on individuals’ participation in their community and the community’s ability to support individuals and their families. Their community development work draws on a number of theoretical approaches, including community capacity building, social capital building and assets based community development designed to increase the internal strengths and capacities of refugee communities.
This paper will present preliminary results of a research project involving an analysis of such community-based interventions being provided by STARTTS and other FASSTT member agencies. These interventions include various community arts projects, Families in Cultural Transition (FICT) and peace leadership training through participation in Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshops. The findings build on research in psychology and psychiatry on individual healing, in anthropology and sociology on intercultural treatment of trauma, and in social psychology on the wider implications of collective healing and peace processes (Drozdek 2010). The interdisciplinary approach aims to forge new connections between research in these separate disciplines to create new insights about healing and psychosocial transformation in different cultural contexts. The presentation will include comparison with the results of research about community-based psychosocial interventions being conducted in Burundi with communities recovering from mass violence.