Developing Strategies to Deal with Trauma in Children

217 Pages·2005·3.031 MB·English

by  J. Donnelly

DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH TRAUMA
IN CHILDREN
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Developing Strategies to Deal with
Trauma in Children
A Means of Ensuring Conflict Prevention, Security and Social
Stability. Case Study: 12–15-Year-Olds in Serbia
Edited by
Jill Donnelly
Mouvement Mondial des Mères/World Movement of Mothers, Paris, France
Anna Kovacova
Klinika detskej psychiatrie, Detskej fakultnej nemocnice, Bratislava,
Slovak Republic
Joy Osofsky
Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry & Public Health, LSU Health Sciences
Center, New Orleans, USA
Howard Osofsky
Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University,
New Orleans, USA
Caroline Paskell
Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics,
United Kingdom
and
Josi Salem-Pickartz
Clinical Psychologist Amman, Jordan
Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Germany
Amsterdam • Berlin • Oxford • Tokyo • Washington, DC
Published in cooperation with NATO Public Diplomacy Division
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Developing Strategies to Deal
with Post-Conflict Trauma in Children
Bratislava, Slovak Republic
4–6 March 2004
© 2005 IOS Press.
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or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission from the publisher.
ISBN 1-58603-546-0
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Developing Strategies to Deal with Trauma in Children v
J. Donnelly et al. (Eds.)
IOS Press, 2005
© 2005 IOS Press. All rights reserved.
Foreword
Slovakia is at the heart of the whirlpool of the communist past and a reunified Europe.
I was delighted to welcome specialist particpants from so many different cultures and
experiences to my country, both as a mother and as a doctor at the Child Psychiatry
Hospital of Bratislava. This meeting identified ways of ensuring that a child would keep
happy memories of childhood and would not allow traumatic experiences of war and
terrorism to harm their adult life.
It was held symbolically in the Slovak Academy of Sciences Castle of Smolenice – just
the place where, in a child’s fairytale, the king and queen will live happily ever after in a
perfect world when the forces of good have overcome the forces of evil... But can this ideal
ever come true?
A life at peace is the basis for the success of every human endeavor. Unfortunately, this
peace is threatened by wars, ideological extremism, the class struggle, political conflict,
terrorism, rape, murder, injustice... in Slovakia and many countires, by the sudden
economic changes of transition ... and, everywhere in the world, man’s unbridled desire for
power over other men...
NATO was founded to maintain peace in Europe – and now beyond – at the same time
as the Mouvement Mondial des Mères/World Movement of Mothers. The MMM helps
mothers fulfil all their responsibilities, particularly building peace, in the family and outside
the home. Thanks to these two organisations this meeting developed ways in which a
child’s fairytale future might come true...
Anna KOVACOVA, MuDr,
NATO Partner Co-Director
Prevention of violence to children and the protection of their rights is the duty of every
adult. But most adults do not know how to offer appropriate support. This meeting, which
brought together for the first time scientists and lay people with practical experience,
looked not only at practical measures to engage and train concerned adults and adolescents,
but also at changing the attitudes which lead to the abuse of children. As a Belgian, trying
to come to terms with the discovery of a paedophile network in the heart our society, I feel
very strongly the need for coordinated local, national and international initiatives and
guidelines to prevent and remedy trauma to children.
Mia VANDERHASSELT
NATO Co-Director
vi
NATO Advanced Research Workshop
Smolenice Castle, Slovak Republic March 4–6th 2004
Preface and Acknowledgments
No longer are threats to security and their impact on individuals a matter for the authorities
alone – a holistic view is now essential. From grass roots to policy level all of us must be
involved, take responsibility, make informed decisions and undertake appropriate actions.
This is particularly important if we are to succeed in redressing the potential negative im-
pact of the psychosocial consequences of trauma in children and adolescents in countries in
transition, emerging from conflict or victim of terrorist incidents.
There are many more young people who need appropriate help to come to terms
with what they are suffering than there are mental health professionals. Many people could
learn the skills to ensure that today’s young people realise their full potential as well-
balanced adults, willing and able not only to commit themselves to social development and
security for their own country but also to focus on respect and understanding to ensure in-
ternational peace and security.
This Workshop sought to establish long-term and sustainable strategies of practical ac-
tivities which mothers, fathers, teachers – any concerned member of the community – can
be trained to undertake in order to complement the work of mental-health professionals to
prevent trauma and to deal with its consequences in children and adolescents as victims,
witnesses and perpetrators of the violence of the new security threats.
As a first step, the 40 participants from 19 countries developed a Consensus Strategy to
deal with the responses to trauma shown by 12–15 year old Serbian children, identifying
the training required by non-professionals working alongside mental health professionals.
Preliminary work was undertaken to develop international guidelines for implementing
effective measures to help young people regain their well-being and become future actors
for respect, understanding and Peace.
We thank each participant for their most active and constructive involvement in every
aspect of the Workshop: they each brought to our meeting total commitment, generosity of
spirit and open-mindedness to succeed in our appointed task.
The setting of Smolenice Castle allowed us all to complement the intense work of the
sessions with very fruitful informal discussions. We should like to express thanks on behalf
of NATO and the MMM to Dr Anna Kovacova, Barbora Maronkova and the direction and
staff of the Castle for their unstinting efforts to ensure our comfort.
I should like to give my sincerest thanks to Lucie Bratinkova and Diana Morato for
their dedication and hard work throughout the meeting, to Caroline Paskell for recording
and transcribing the proceedings, to all those who helped to translate and edit the manu-
script and to Celia Clarke for copy-editing and proof reading.
This spirit of solidarity and human concern in many people throughout the world far
outweighs the atrocities committed by the few – this brings hope that the future can truly be
secure and peaceful.
Jill DONNELLY
President, MMM International
vii
List of Participants
AKHMEDOVA, Khapta Psychologist dealing with refugees, Grozny,
Chechnya
BELAROUCCI, Latéfa Clinical psychologist, specialist in victims of
terrorism, Algeria
BENHABYLES, Saïda President of the International Federation of Victims
of Terrorism Algeria
BOKUN, Tanja NGO “Srce”, Centre for Emotional Support and
Prevention of Suicide Novi Sad, Serbia and
Montenegro
BRATINKOVA, Lucie Research Fellow Defence Academy of the United
Kingdom Shrivenham UK (Czech)
DESPOTOVIC, Tija Psychoanalytical psychotherapist, psychiatrist
Belgrade, Serbia
DONNELLY, Jill President, MMM International Paris France (British)
GASIC PAVISIC, Slobodanka Professor Faculty of Education and Foundation
Together Belgrade Serbia
GMUR KARAPETIAN, Armine Center For Psychological Services, Armenia
IGNATIEVA, Anna Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia
Moscow Russian Federation
JISHKARIANI, Mariam Psycho-rehabilitation Center For Victims Of Torture
Centre “Empathy”, Tblisi Georgia
JOVANIC DUNJIC, Ivanka Psychiatrist/psychotherapist, Belgrade Serbia
KOVACOVA, Anna Paediatric psychiatrist, Klinika detskej psychiatrie
Detskej fakultnej nemocnice, Bratislava Slovak
Republic
LETH, Ingrid Professor of Psychology, University of Copenhagen
Denmark
KUTS, Linna President, Democratic Union of Many Children
Families Chernigov Ukraine
DE MALHERBE, Angela Centre d’Education Pluridisciplinaire de la
Personnalité Neuilly-sur-Seine France
MALKA, Shimon The Jewish Arab Center for Peace, Co-director ‘All
for Peace’ joint Palestinian/Israeli radio station and
Co-editor ‘Crossing Borders’ joint Palestinian/
Israeli/Jordanian youth magazine Givat Haviva Israel
MARONKOVA, Barbora Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs
Bratislava Slovak Republic
MORATO, Diana Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE), Madrid,
Spain
NEUHAUSER, Linda Clinical Professor School of Public Health,
University of California Health Sciences Center
Berkeley, California, USA
OZACKY Lazar, Sara Academic Director, The Jewish Arab Center for
Peace Givat Haviva Israel
viii
OSOFSKY, Howard Head of the Department of Psychiatry Louisiana
State University, New Orleans USA
OSOFSKY, Joy Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, & Public Health
LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans USA
PASKELL, Caroline Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London
School of Economics UK
PETERS, Lilian Consultant International Coalition to Stop the Use of
Children as Soldiers
DE RAMBUTEAU, Isabelle President, MMM France Paris France
SALEM-PICKARTZ, Josi Clinical psychologist, Amman Jordan (German)
SKODA’CEK, I. Head of the Klinika detskej psychiatrie Detskej
fakultnej nemocnice, Bratislava Slovak Republic
SPECKARD, Anne Associate Professor in Psychiatry Georgetown
University, Professor of Psychology Vesalius
College Free University of Brussels Belgium
TKACHENKO, Dmytro Youth section DUMF Chernigov Ukraine
VANDERHASSELT, Mia Liga voor het Kind, Ghent Belgium
VLACHOVA, Marie Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces
Women and Children in an Insecure World
Programme Geneva Switzerland (Czech)
VULEVIC, Gordana Psychologist-Psychopathologist Faculty of
Philosophy, Department for Psychology of Youth
and Adolescence Belgrade Serbia
WIENTJES, Cornelis Military psychologist, NATO Security-Related Civil
Science & Technology Programme Brussels Belgium
(Dutch)
YULE, William Professor of Applied Child Psychology, University
of London Institute of Psychiatry UK
ZIVULOVIC, Jasna President MMM Serbia, Belgrade Serbia
ix
Contents
Foreword v
Anna Kovacova and Mia Vanderhasselt
Preface and Acknowledgments vi
Jill Donnelly
List of Participants vii
Introduction
Introduction I. The Essential Elements in Dealing with Trauma in Children
and Adolescents in the Context of Conflict and Terrorist Incident 1
Howard J. Osofsky
Introduction II. Working in the Context of the New Security Environment
and Threats to National and International Stability 7
Jill Donnelly
Part I
1. Specific Causes of Trauma in Children and Adolescents as Victims, Witnesses
and Perpetrators of the Violence of Conflict and Terrorism, and Activities Proved
to Prevent, Reduce or Remedy the Consequences to the Individual and to Society
as a Whole
1. Education Under Continuous Violent Conflict 15
Sara Ozacky-Lazar
2. Brutalisation of Young Conscripts in the Russian Federation and the
Long-Term Effects 19
Anna Ignatieva
3. Terrorism in Algeria – The Impact on Children and Adolescents 23
Saïda Benhabyles
4. Terrorist Violence: Attack on Community Attachments 25
Latéfa Belarouci
5. Group Therapy with Traumatized Children in the Chechen Refugees Camps 32
Khapta Akhmedova
6. Traumatic Stress Among Child War Victims and Problems of Rehabilitation
in Georgia 34
M. Jishkariani, V. Kenchadze and Z. Beria
7. Child Soldiers – Recruitment, Demobilization, Rehabilitation, Reintegration 40
Lilian Peters