scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Hip Hop-Based Music Therapy to Address Trauma in Asylum Seeker and Unaccompanied Minor Migrant Youth

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salih Gulbay

There are numerous young asylum seekers and unaccompanied migrant minors around the globe. A comprehensive literature review revealed that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common disorder that affects the asylum seeker youth and migrant minor populations. Many of these individuals struggle with PTSD and show resilience in their daily lives while also learning, discovering, and surviving. Accordingly, therapeutic interventions directed to them must be trauma-informed, phased, engaging, empowering, and impactful to support the needs of these young people. A seven-month-long music therapy intervention experience that was applied to young asylum seekers in Spain, and found that the most effective intervention tools were Hip Hop Therapy-related interventions. This study resulted in a new intervention model, The Integral Hip Hop Methodology. This paper highlights the importance that intervention models be engaging and considerate to the necessities and preferences of the addressed population and presents The Integral Hip Hop Methodology as an example.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Mallon ◽  
Monika Hoog Antink

Due to the difficult situation of refugees, working with this group is challenging. Yet, music therapy is a suitable method for early therapeutic intervention. The authors introduce the context-sensitive classification model for music therapeutic interventions with refugees—COVER model— which is based on practical music therapeutic experiences using a trauma-informed approach with refugees in Germany. The COVER model can serve as a guideline for music therapists who work with refugees in insecure circumstances. The COVER model applies music therapeutic interventions to the natural living environment of refugees and allows for early interventions which may be a crucial benefit to the psychological health of refugees and music therapists working in this area.


2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Bitzi ◽  
Sara Landolt

Abstract. This article addresses unaccompanied minor asylum seekers' (UAMs) educational experiences in Switzerland. Drawing on ethnographic research we explore what it means for UAMs to get an education and how having access or not having access to particular forms and spaces of education plays a part in the process of their subject formations. We get insights into such processes in diverse spaces of education and in phases of transition between them. We point out how educational arrangements can produce feelings of belonging and non-belonging and highlight that these feelings are entangled with life experiences and the responsibilities of UAMs in their daily lives in Switzerland. We argue that although at first glance the category unaccompanied minor asylum seeker seems to dominate and determine the formation of a possible educational subject and feelings of belonging for UAMs, the subject formation and feelings of belonging in the highly regulated field of UAMs' education are far more complex and fluid. To capture this complexity, we draw on geographies of education and understand spaces of education as connected to other spaces as UAMs' learning and educational processes are entangled with the demands of their everyday lives.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Afona Chernet ◽  
Nicole Probst-Hensch ◽  
Véronique Sydow ◽  
Daniel H. Paris ◽  
Niklaus D. Labhardt

Abstract Objective Eritrea is the most frequent country of origin among asylum seekers in Switzerland. On their journey through the desert and across the Mediterranean Sea, Eritrea refugees are often exposed to traumatizing experiences. The aim of this study is to assess the mental health status and resilience of Eritrean migrants in Switzerland upon arrival and one-year post-arrival, using standardized mental health screening and resilience assessment tools. Results At baseline, 107 refugees (11.2% female, median age 25) were interviewed: 52 (48.6%) screened positive for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (score ≥ 30), 10.3% for anxiety (≥ 10) and 15.0% for depression (≥ 10); 17.8% scored as risk/hazardous drinkers (≥ 8). The majority (94.4%) had a high resilience score (≥ 65). For one-year follow-up, 48 asylum seekers could be reached. In interviews 18 (38%) of these reported imprisonment in a transit country and 28 (58%) that they had witnessed the death of a close person along the migration route. At the one year assessment, rates of risky/hazardous alcohol use remained unchanged, rates of positive PTSD screening tended to be lower (50.0% (24/48) at baseline vs 25.0% (12/48) at follow-up), as were rates of positive screening for anxiety (8.3% vs 4.2%) and depression (14.6 vs 6.3%).


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e005029
Author(s):  
Giulia Turrini ◽  
Federico Tedeschi ◽  
Pim Cuijpers ◽  
Cinzia Del Giovane ◽  
Ahlke Kip ◽  
...  

IntroductionRefugees and asylum seekers are vulnerable to common mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using a network meta-analysis (NMA) approach, the present systematic review compared and ranked psychosocial interventions for the treatment of PTSD in adult refugees and asylum seekers.MethodsRandomised studies of psychosocial interventions for adult refugees and asylum seekers with PTSD were systematically identified. PTSD symptoms at postintervention was the primary outcome. Standardised mean differences (SMDs) and ORs were pooled using pairwise and NMA. Study quality was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) tool, and certainty of evidence was assessed through the Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis application.ResultsA total of 23 studies with 2308 participants were included. Sixteen studies were conducted in high-income countries, and seven in low-income or middle-income countries. Most studies were at low risk of bias according to the Cochrane RoB tool. NMA on PTSD symptoms showed that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (SMD=−1.41; 95% CI −2.43 to −0.38) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) (SMD=−1.30; 95% CI −2.40 to −0.20) were significantly more effective than waitlist (WL). CBT was also associated with a higher decrease in PTSD symptoms than treatment as usual (TAU) (SMD −1.51; 95% CI −2.67 to −0.36). For all other interventions, the difference with WL and TAU was not significant. CBT and EMDR ranked best according to the mean surface under the cumulative ranking. Regarding acceptability, no intervention had less dropouts than inactive interventions.ConclusionCBT and EMDR appeared to have the greatest effects in reducing PTSD symptoms in asylum seekers and refugees. This evidence should be considered in guidelines and implementation packages to facilitate dissemination and uptake in refugee settings.


Author(s):  
Mary Griggs ◽  
Cheng Liu ◽  
Kate Cooper

Abstract Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is commonly experienced by asylum seekers and refugees (ASR). Evidence supports the use of cognitive behavioural therapy-based treatments, but not in group format for this population. However, group-based treatments are frequently used as a first-line intervention in the UK. Aims: This study investigated the feasibility of delivering a group-based, manualised stabilisation course specifically developed for ASR. The second aim was to evaluate the use of routine outcome measures (ROMs) to capture psychological change in this population. Method: Eighty-two participants from 22 countries attended the 8-session Moving On After Trauma (MOAT) group-based stabilisation treatment. PHQ-9, GAD-7, IES-R and idiosyncratic outcomes were administered pre- and post-intervention. Results: Seventy-one per cent of participants (n = 58) attended five or more of the treatment sessions. While completion rates of the ROMs were poor – measures were completed at pre- and post-intervention for 46% participants (n = 38) – a repeated-measures MANOVA indicated significant improvements in depression (p = .001, ηp2 = .262), anxiety (p = .000, ηp2 = .390), PTSD (p = .001, ηp2 = .393) and idiosyncratic measures (p = .000, ηp2 = .593) following the intervention. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence indicates that ASR who attended a low-intensity, group-based stabilisation group for PTSD experienced lower mental health scores post-group, although the lack of a comparison group means these results should be interpreted with caution. There are significant challenges in administering ROMs to individuals who speak many different languages, in a group setting. Nonetheless, groups have benefits including efficiency of treatment delivery which should also be considered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Sivunen ◽  
Elina Tapio

AbstractIn this paper we explore the use of multimodal and multilingual semiotic resources in interactions between two deaf signing participants, a researcher and an asylum seeker. The focus is on the use of gaze and environmentally coupled gestures. Drawing on multimodal analysis and linguistic ethnography, we demonstrate how gaze and environmentally coupled gestures are effective semiotic resources for reaching mutual understanding. The study provides insight into the challenges and opportunities (deaf) asylum seekers, researchers, and employees of reception centres or the state may encounter because of the asymmetrical language competencies. Our concern is that such asymmetrical situations may be created and maintained by ignoring visual and embodied resources in interaction and, in the case of deaf asylum seekers, by unrealistic expectations towards conventionalized forms of international sign.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 355
Author(s):  
Ikram Sabaoui ◽  
Said Lotfi ◽  
Mohammed Talbi

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced around the world, new student lifestyles have had an impact on their daily behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine post-traumatic stress associated with the initial COVID-19 crisis in students (N = 280) with a mean age of 13 ± 1.70 and to determine the relationship between their reported daily behaviors in terms of their gender. The study was conducted primarily in Casablanca and Marrakech, the two cities most affected by the pandemic at the time of the study in Morocco in May 2020. Our sample consists of 133 high school students and 147 middle school students, 83.6% of whom are females. Students were asked to answer questions based on an Activity Biorhythm Questionnaire, the Post-Traumatic Stress Scale (Weathers et al., 1993), the Hamilton Scale (Hamilton, 1960), the Worry Domains Questionnaire (Tallis, Eyzenck, Mathews, 1992), and the Visual Analog Scale of Moods (VASM) (Stern et al., 1997). The results obtained confirm that there is a significant relationship between the circadian rhythm of some variables and gender in some activities such as academic study (p < 0.05) and TV and Internet use (p < 0.05) and was highly significant for physical activity (p = 0.001), while others are not significant in relation to other schedules of the same variables or in relation to others. Likewise, for the psychological conditions, significant relationships with mood states and depressive tendencies were confirmed. In lockdown, the students’ daily lives underwent changes in circadian rhythm and lifestyle. Therefore, it is necessary to treat their current psychological problems and avoid future complications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-423
Author(s):  
Abdullah AlRefaie ◽  
Christopher Dowrick

Objectives: To assess the causes and risk factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adult asylum seekers and refugees. To explore whether the causes and risk factors of PTSD between male and female adult refugees/asylum seekers are different. Study design: Systematic review of current literature. Data Sources: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar up until February 2019. Method: A structured, systematic search was conducted of the relevant databases. Papers were excluded if they failed to meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Afterwards, a qualitative assessment was performed on the selected papers. Results: 12 Studies were included for the final analysis. All papers were either case studies/reports or cross-sectional studies. Traumatic events experienced by refugees/asylum seekers are the most frequently reported pre-migration causes of PTSD development, while acculturative stress is the most common post-migration stressor. There were mixed reports regarding the causes of PTSD between both genders of refugees/asylum seekers. Conclusions: This review’s findings have potential clinical application in terms of helping clinicians to risk stratify refugees/asylum seekers for PTSD development and thus aid in embarking on earlier intervention measures. However, more rigorous research similar to this study is needed for it to be implemented into clinical practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elly Scrine

A broad sociocultural perspective defines trauma as the result of an event, a series of events, or a set of circumstances that is experienced as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening, with lasting impacts on an individual’s physical, social, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing. Contexts and practices that aim to be “trauma-informed” strive to attend to the complex impacts of trauma, integrating knowledge into policies and practices, and providing a sanctuary from harm. However, there is a body of critical and decolonial scholarship that challenges the ways in which “trauma-informed” practice prioritizes individualized interventions, reinscribes colonial power relations through its conceptualizations of safety, and obscures the role of systemic injustices. Within music therapy trauma scholarship, research has thus far pointed to the affordances of music in ameliorating symptoms of trauma, bypassing unavailable cognitive processes, and working from a strengths-based orientation. In critiquing the tendency of the dominant trauma paradigm to assign vulnerability and reinforce the individual’s responsibility to develop resilience through adversity, this conceptual analysis outlines potential alternatives within music therapy. Drawing on a case example from a research project with young people in school, I elucidate the ways in which music therapy can respond to power relations as they occur within and beyond “trauma-informed” spaces. I highlight two overarching potentials for music therapy within a shifting trauma paradigm: (1) as a site in which to reframe perceived risk by fostering young people’s resistance and building their political agency and (2) in challenging the assumption of “safe spaces” and instead moving toward practices of “structuring safety.”


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