Program That Helps Children Cope After Disasters Could Benefit Refugees, At-Risk Youth
[Source: Medical News Today]
A social and emotional skills intervention developed to help children recover from the trauma of natural disasters is being adapted to help young Syrian refugees heal their psychological wounds.
Journey of Hope, a school-based psychosocial intervention co-developed by University of Illinois social work professor Tara M. Powell to help young victims of Hurricane Katrina, is being used with young people in the Ukraine and is being adapted to help Syrian refugees in Turkey as well, Powell said.
Powell, who developed the program while working for the nonprofit organization Save the Children, currently is pilot testing JOH with youths in rural Tennessee who live in poverty and are at risk of substance abuse, criminal justice involvement and other adverse outcomes.
“Oftentimes there’s programming available for children who have diagnosed mental health issues, but there’s not much available for children who are at risk. Or the services are not accessible because of cost, distance or other factors,” Powell said.
Although JOH was developed for disaster victims, the curriculum is broadly applicable to young people in general, including those who don’t have clinical mental health diagnoses or aren’t experiencing mental health problems, Powell said.
Read the Rest of this Article on Medical News Today
PediaStaff is Hiring!
All JobsPediaStaff hires pediatric and school-based professionals nationwide for contract assignments of 2 to 12 months. We also help clinics, hospitals, schools, and home health agencies to find and hire these professionals directly. We work with Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational and Physical Therapists, School Psychologists, and others in pediatric therapy and education.