Product Description

The last two decades of the 20th century have witnessed over thirty-five civil wars and an even larger number of lower intensity conflicts worldwide. Widespread brutalization and ethnic cleansing, often resulting in large movements of population, characterize many of the conflicts. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are currently 50 million people who are victims of forced displacement, 40- 80 % of whom will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The mental health problems among asylum seekers and refugees are becoming a public issue, but the awareness of societies and mental health professionals considering this problem is relatively low. Although advances have been made in the provision of innovative mental health services for asylum seekers and refuges with PTSD, they are not systemized, and not widely known to professionals in the field. A publication offering practical guidelines for the treatment of torture victims and political refugees does not exist.Broken Spirits brings together the works of the most respected mental health professionals--from the U.S. and abroad--and make available the most current knowledge on complex PTSD, forced migration and cultural sensitivity in diagnosis and treatment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #480244 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 736 pages

Review
STRONG 'This volume represents an important contribution to this expanding and is anticipated to have a high impact on both policy and future research. The volume is an excellent handbook for all those who are interested in the treatment of traumatized asylum seekers, refugees, war, and torture victims, including the educated general reader or policymaker with an interest in contemporary work on trauma. Libraries will want to add this to their collections, and one supects the book entice readers from diverse fields, including psychology, anthropolgy, sociology, human development, social work, nursing, and psychiatry. It offers a starting point for the novice as well as a contemporary literature review of this expanding field for the specialist, the current volume ought to remain an important contribution for some time.' /STRONG EM - Grant J. Rich, APA/PsycCRITIQUES, /EM