Children

Physiotherapist Day of Service: Helping Children in Amman, Jordan

For many professionals who do healing work, it is a good feeling to be able to bring your skills and experience to people who might not otherwise have access to your service. When a chance arose to bring physiotherapy work to a nonprofit organization in Amman, the CVT Jordan team was happy to step forward. Beginning in 2015, an international group of physiotherapists (PTs) was inspired to start a project called the PT Day of Service. For one day in October, they call upon PTs around the world to engage in a day of helping within their communities, all with the mission to “Change lives. Grow community. Better the World.”

Finding the Most Effective Ways to Help Children Affected by War

At CVT Jordan, one of the most powerful and successful things that we are doing on the physiotherapy team is the children’s group sessions. During my three and a half years as a physiotherapist at CVT, I have come to understand how important it is to include the parents in their children’s healing journey. In order to get the best results, at CVT we have modified our approach as we’ve learned from the children and their parents.

Working with Unaccompanied Minors in the U.S.

The following considerations for providers who are working with unaccompanied minors in the U.S. were written by Leora Hudak, MSW, LGSW, a psychotherapist at the Center for Victims of Torture, based on her experiences interviewing providers of services to unaccompanied Central American youth. For more information on working with children, see our section on that topic - particularly the expert presentations.

1. Address complex, developmental trauma

Central American youth rarely report just one isolated traumatic life event.

Mary Bunn, PhD

Clinical Instructor and Research Scientist, Psychiatry College of Medicine

Mary Bunn has expertise in international mental health, trauma and resilience in immigrant and refugee communities and trauma-informed, cross-cultural programming for communities impacted by chronic violence, trauma and stress. Previously Associate Director of Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center, Ms. Bunn now works as a consultant to national and international organizations addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of displaced and violence-affected communities.

Advocating to Protect Unaccompanied Children in Your Community

This webinar, by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), addresses advocacy on behalf of unaccompanied children residing with sponsors and relatives across the United States as they await their immigration hearings. Panelists provide updates on where the children are living, their impact on local communities, and steps you can take to welcome them.

Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults

Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults
Felitti, Vincent J et al.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 14 , Issue 4 , 245 - 258 

This study found a strong graded relationship between the breadth of exposure to abuse or household dysfunction during childhood and multiple risk factors for several of the leading causes of death in adults.

Link is to full article available for free.

Torture Rehabilitation Bibliography - CVT PATH Q2 2014

CVT's Partners in Trauma Healing (PATH) creates bibliographies every quarter. The PATH bibliography is a resource for current literature on the topic of the mental health status of and treatments for torture survivors, war trauma survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers. This also includes research in the areas of social work that relate directly to the psychological wellbeing of these populations.

Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children

Developed by John Briere, PhD in 1996, this measure assesses the effects of childhood trauma through the child’s self-report of trauma symptoms. Designed for use with children ages 8-16, but possibly applicable with 17-year-olds as well.

For more information about the TSCC, see John Briere's page on the measure. You may obtain the measure through PAR. It is available in English and Spanish.

Unaccompanied Children and Health Care

As a part of the National Immigration Law Center's excellent web page on Unaccompanied Children, they created this FAQ about Unaccompanied Children and Healthcare: 

Recently, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has apprehended nearly 63,000 unaccompanied children at the border since October 2013. The vast majority of the children are nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and are fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries.

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