Mental Health Evaluators

Risk and resilience for psychological distress amongst unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents

Hodes M, Jagdev D, Chandra N, Cunniff A. (2008), Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(7):723-32. Full article requires paid subscription.

Summary written for www.HealTorture.org by CVT Intern Joseph Walker: 

Across the world there are significant numbers of displaced and unaccompanied refugee children. They are sent away from their families or flee from their communities out of fear of persecution, organized violence, or war. Young people who experience war events and displacement have elevated rates of psychopathology, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder.

The mental health of children affected by armed conflict: protective processes and pathways to resilience

Betancourt TS, Khan KT (2008), International Review of Psychiatry; 20(3):317-28.

This paper examines the concept of resilience in the context of children affected by armed conflict and presents key studies in the literature that address the interplay between risk and protective processes in the mental health of war-affected children from an ecological, developmental perspective.
Note: Requires paid subscription - link is to abstract.

Children, torture and psychological consequences

Alayarian, A. (2009). Torture: Journal of Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture, 19(2), 145-156.
 
Impact of torture on children may vary depending on the child’s coping strategies, cultural and social circumstances. In this paper the author gives a brief introduction of the work the Refugee Therapy Center does with children, discusses the effects of torture on children and presents a vignette and some examples of clinical intervention.

* The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)’s Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of

Assessment of Malingering With Repeat Forensic Evaluations: Patient Variability and Possible Misclassification on the SIRS and Other Feigning Measures

Rogers, R., Vitacco, M. and Kurus, S. (2009), Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law, 38:109–14

Malingering is conceptualized as a specific response style to an adverse set of circumstances. As a situational response style, malingering is not viewed as a stable trait or enduring characteristic of feigning individuals.
This brief analysis addresses a critical concern of repeat forensic evaluations.

Clinical and Conceptual Problems in the Attribution of Malingering in Forensic Evaluations

Drob, S., Meehan, K., and Waxman, S. (2009), Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law, 37:98–106

The assessment of malingering in a forensic context is beset by a variety of clinical and conceptual difficulties that are often overlooked by forensic specialists. In the article, the authors review clinical and conceptual errors that contribute to false attributions of malingering in forensic evaluations.

Adapting the Cultural Formulation for Clinical Assessments in Forensic Psychiatry

Aggarwal, Neil (2012), Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law, 40:113-18

Cross-cultural researchers have advised against group approaches to individual care. This article offers a revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV) Outline for Cultural Formulation for use in forensic psychiatry by adjusting its formal guidelines with recommendations from the forensic mental health literature.

Complex Trauma, Complex Reactions: Assessment and Treatment

Courtois, Christine (2004), in Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, Vol 41, No 4, 412-425

This article examines the criteria contained in the diagnostic conceptualization of complex PTSD (CPTSD). It reviews newly available assessment tools and outlines a sequences treatment based on accumulated clinical observation and emerging empirical substantiation.

Major Depression Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Ricardo E. Jorge, MD; Robert G. Robinson, MD; David Moser, PhD; Amane Tateno, MD; Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, MD; Stephan Arndt, PhD. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004; 61:42-50.

Major depression is a frequent complication of TBI that hinders a patient's recovery. The article aims to determine the clinical, neuropsychological, and structural neuroimaging correlates of major depression occurring after TBI.

Brain Structural Abnormalities and Mental Health Sequelae in South Vietnamese Ex–Political Detainees Who Survived Traumatic Head Injury and Torture

Mollica, R., Lyoo, I.K., Chernoff, M., Bui, H., Lavelle ,J., Yoon, S., Kim, J.,  Renshaw, P. (2009) Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009; 66(11):1221-1232.

Traumatic Head Injury is a common form of torture and occurs frequently in survivors of mass violence. This study of South Vietnamese ex–political detainees who had been incarcerated in Vietnamese reeducation camps and resettled in the United States disclosed significant mental health problems associated with torture and traumatic head injury.

Torture and its neurological sequelae

Moreno, A., Grodin, MA. (2002) Spinal Cord, 40(5):213-23

There are several forms of torture that may affect the nervous system including beatings, gunshot wounds, stab wounds, asphyxiation, prolonged suspension and electrocution. Victims of torture commonly experience neurological symptoms such as headaches, vertigo, loss of consciousness and dizziness during and after torture. The authors argue that the treatment of these neurological conditions does not differ from other patient populations.

Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: Measuring Trauma, Measuring Torture (HTQ)

and Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) Measuring Trauma, Measuring Torture

Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma

The manual provides the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma’s scientific and field experience for eighteen years with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and Hopkins Symptom Check List-25 (HSCL –25). The manual is not just a “how to” on the use of screening instruments. It provides a rich scientific and ethnographic model and tools for the care of traumatized persons in diverse cultural settings worldwide.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Mental Health Evaluators