1 Ecological Frameworks for Addressing the Psychosocial Needs of Forced Migrants

2 ecological - WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) : ecological adj 1: characterized by the interdependence of living organisms in an environment; The Ecological Model of Psychosocial Intervention thus refers to a model intended to situate persons within, and in dynamic relation with, their immediate environment (socio-political context).

3 Miller and Rasco text: The Mental Health of Refugees: Ecological Approaches to Healing and Adaptation, Ecological Frameworks for Addressing Mental Health of Refugees, pgs 1-55 (model pg 26).

4 Chap 1 – Ecological Frameworks The ecological models presented in the text are most closely related to community psychology. However, the models overlap with components of clinical psychology, anthropology, public health and other disciplines.

5 Chap 1: Ecological Principles 1. Demands of the setting vs level of adaptive resources creates mental health difficulties (sociological/ community perspective vs individual emphasis); 2. Interventions should address issues of concern to the community members (not service provider agenda); 3. Emphasize prevention over tx (more cost effective); 4. Should be culturally appropriate – local values & beliefs should be incorporated; 5. Programs should be integrated into existing community settings, 6. Capacity building is key for long-term sustainability.

6 Adverse Effects of Political Violence and Displacemnt on Individuals, Families, and Communities (Model, pg 26) Displacement related loss and acculturation challenges impact community, family and individual well-being. Community Level: potential breakdown in community trust as a result of violence, and dissolution of community ties and institutions during process of displacement. Family Level: Increased family tension, loss of family members, strain on families of distress of individual members who may not be able to fulfill roles. Individual Level: may be reacting to potential impact of violence related trauma, may experience depression or anxiety due to displacement related stressors.

Goals of Interventions What is it that psychosocial interventions are trying to achieve?

8 Broad Goals of Any Intervention 1. Increase protective factors/ decrease risk factors; 2. Increase self-reported feeling of well-being/ decrease subjective distress; 3. Increase ability to function in daily activities/ reduce functional impairment (related to achieving personal goals); 4. Reduce troublesome symptoms; 5. Increase resilience and coping skills (ability to “bounce back” from future difficulties).

9 In order to achieve these goals: One must… 1. Understand personal definitions and expressions of (subjective) distress (local idioms); 2. Inventory existing and absent protective factors and coping skills; 3. Understand the individual in psychosocial context (ie- the impact of the social environment on the individual and vice versa).

10 Most importantly… You must determine jointly with the client(s) what “success” or improvement will look like in their particular case in order to determine if the interventions have been successful or not… How will you measure “success” and avoid the desire to assume effectiveness of interventions in the presence of evidence to the contrary?

11 Psychosocial Interventions encompass a wide range of diverse options and can include… Witnessing/ empathic listening; Promoting access to justice; Traditional ceremonies; Counseling (individual, family, group or community level); Use of the arts (drama, art, personal narrative, etc); Referral for psychotropic medication; Conflict resolution dialogue; Job referral/ employment support; Promoting access to educational opportunities; Sports activities; Community-level awareness raising, etc.