Options
Womersley, Gail
Nom
Womersley, Gail
Affiliation principale
Fonction
Ancien.ne collaborateur.trice
Identifiants
Résultat de la recherche
Voici les éléments 1 - 10 sur 10
- PublicationMétadonnées seulement(Un)imagination and (im)mobility: Exploring the past and constructing possible futures among refugee victims of torture in Greece(2020-1-7)Greece represents a unique context in which to explore the imagination-(im)mobility nexus: both a transit country and final destination for refugees. This article explores the imagination of refugee victims of torture in Athens as they weave together images of the past, present and future to confer meaning to their current situation and imagine new possible futures. In the context of a growing interest in emotions and temporalities linked to migration, the aim of this paper is thus to explore the complex interplay between the imagination of migrants and the trauma from the theoretical standpoint of sociocultural psychology. The paradoxes are multiple: (i) Migration is inherently imaginative, in the sense that the actualisation of migration begins with individuals imagining their destination; (ii) however, trauma related to forced migration experiences in particular may impede imagination. To further add to the complexity: it may be imagination itself which acts as an essential component to healing from trauma. The article explores forced migrants’ mobility choices and individual migration trajectories to provide insight into how the emotionality of subjective experiences, as well as the sociocultural context, are fundamentally involved in people’s plans to migrate and the development of their ever-changing imagination of a better future elsewhere. The results similarly illustrate imagination as being significantly shaped by the collective imaginings of entire communities.
- PublicationMétadonnées seulementCollective trauma among displaced populations in Northern Iraq: A case study evaluating the therapeutic interventions of the Free Yezidi Foundation(2019-7-31)
; Arikut-Treece, YesimYezidism arguably remains one of the most oppressed religions in Iraq, with the population historically confronted by many attempts at genocide. These atrocities haveleft many survivors displaced and affected by trauma, yet little research has been conducted on experiences of trauma among this population. In the context of an internal evaluation of the Free Yezidi Foundation’s mental health intervention in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 200 Yezidi women were screened at the beginning and end of a six-month mental health intervention using the World Health Organization (WHO)-5 well-being scale and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Qualitative data were obtained from sixteen focus group discussions (FGDs) among service users ofthe project as well as six in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with members of the project team. The results of the WHO-5 indicate a 74% increase in self-reported well-being among service users who completed the programme. According to the results of the HTQ, the baseline prevalence rate of posttraumatic stress disorderwas 81.25%,which decreased to 45% upon completion of the programme. A qualitative analysis of interviews and FGDs highlighted that a significant impact on mental health were collective, multiple losses and separations (including family members who sought refuge abroad), the fact that not all Yezidi held in captivity have returned, fear of ongoing attacks and daily stressors related to poor living conditions. The results highlight the substantial impact of the political, legal and sociocultural environment on both the prevalence of trauma as well as processes of psychosocial rehabilitation. The implications for interventions include utilising socioecological frameworks for research and practice, engaging in advocacy and establishing agendas for mental health practice and psychosocial support that emphasises individual and collective self-determination - PublicationAccès libre«En Afrique, aller voir le psychologue, je n’ai jamais entendu ça»: interprétations croisées du psycho-traumatisme entre médiateurs culturels, professionnels de santé et réfugiés victimes de torture à Athènes(2019-4-30)
; Malgré la prévalence élevée d’état de stress post-traumatique, ou SSPT (Syndrome de Stress Post-Traumatique) diagnostiqué chez les réfugiés, d’importantes critiques ont été soulevées quant à sa pertinence comme construction diagnostique, notamment au plan interculturel. En outre, la collaboration entre les professionnels en santé mentale et les réfugiés se heurte fréquemment aux barrières linguistiques et culturelles, ce qui accroît les risques d’incompréhension. Le médiateur culturel joue dans cet espace un rôle clef de mise en dialogue des conceptions et interprétations variées de la souffrance et du trouble mental entre les réfugiés et les professionnels de santé. Afin d’explorer la diversité des perspectives des réfugiés, des professionnels de santé et des médiateurs culturels sur le traumatisme, nous présentons les analyses issues d’un travail de recherche de douze mois auprès d’ONG travaillant à Athènes, en Grèce, avec des réfugiés victimes de torture. Nos analyses se centrent sur la manière dont les réfugiés victimes de torture vivent et qualifient leur traumatisme ; la construction des représentations, des pratiques et des normes concernant les troubles mentaux dans l’interaction avec les professionnels de santé ; et la façon dont divers acteurs se représentent, comprennent et utilisent une construction diagnostique telle que le SSPT. Notre recherche souligne la nécessité d’une compréhension plus nuancée et contextualisée du traumatisme, comme étant influencée de façon déterminante par des systèmes culturels et des contextes sociaux, économiques et historiques plus vastes. - PublicationAccès libreVoies de « resubjectivation » chez les demandeurs d’asile victimes de torture(2018-10-4)
; Résumé Aux expériences traumatisantes multiples vécus tout au long du parcours migratoire, font écho des expériences d'exclusion ainsi que les difficultés et incertitudes liées aux trajectoires administratives – tous ces facteurs générant des effets désubjectivisants. Pour les victimes de torture en particulier, le trauma est extrême. Afin d’explorer des processus de resubjectivation, nous avons mené une étude longitudinale à Athènes, dans un centre pour demandeurs d’asile victimes de torture. Quelles activités et quelles ressources ces personnes en situation d’exil mobilisent-elles pour résister de manière créative aux processus de déshumanisation ? Les analyses dialogiques mettent en évidence le potentiel transformatif des « ressources créatives » mobilisées pour réinjecter de la vie et du lien là où prévaut le mortifère et la déliaison. Mots clés : traumatisme, resubjectivation, demandeurs d’asile, torture Pathways of “resubjectification” among victims of torture seeking asylum Résumé The multiple traumas experienced by migrants throughout the migratory journey echo experiences of exclusion as well as the difficulties and uncertainties related to administrative procedures in the host country - all of which risk “desubjectifying” the individual. For victims of torture in particular, the trauma is extreme. In order to explore processes of “resubjectification,” we conducted a longitudinal study in Athens, in a centre for victims of torture seeking asylum. What activities and resources do these individuals in exile mobilize creatively to resist processes of dehumanization? A dialogical analysis highlights the transformative potential of creative resources for the individual as a source of life and creativity. Key words: trauma, resubjectification, asylum seekers, torture - PublicationAccès libre‘This is not paranoia, this is real life’: psychosocial interventions for refugee victims of torture in Athens(2018-7-31)
; The need for culturally relevant treatment interventions for refugees focusing on post-migration factors is clearly of no small concern. To (i) explore culturally informed perspectives on trauma from an individual, qualitative perspective and (ii) track the trajectory of post-traumatic responses in relation to processes of social integration, we present the results of 12 months of research among asylum seekers and refugees in an NGO-run centre for victims of torture in Athens, Greece. This included an in-depth follow-up of 10 victims of torture, as well as interviews with 36 health professionals, seven cultural mediators and 21 refugee community leaders. A case study from the research project is presented to illustrate the substantial psychological impact of current material realities of refugee victims of torture as they adapt to their new environment. An interpersonal-social model is presented which examines various post-migration ‘feedback loops’ influencing post-traumatic symptomatology. - PublicationAccès libre“My mind is not like before”: Psychosocial rehabilitation of victims of torture in Athens(2018-7-30)
; ; - PublicationAccès libreUsing Cultural-Historical Theory to Explore Trauma among Refugee Populations in Europe(2018-6-19)
; The psychological impact of atrocities endured by refugee populations is clear, with the literature reporting significantly high prevalence rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the numerous criticisms surrounding the use of PTSD, we argue that cultural-historical psychology allows for a unique perspective in which to examine trauma among this population. Notably, we aim to bring a critical regard towards ‘psychiatrisation,’ arguing instead for a non-reductionist ontological vision of human nature and development as being rooted in cultural-historical context as well as material social practices. The results of a yearlong intervention in a center for refugee victims of torture in Athens is presented, which included 3 months of participant observation and 125 interviews with health professionals, refugee community leaders and individual victims of torture. A qualitative case study is presented to emphasise the social, cultural, and historical location of trauma. The paper highlights the need to focus on the current material ecologies of refugees entering Europe – their developmental activities in interaction with their environment. - PublicationAccès libreBeing through doing: the self-immolation of an asylum seeker in Switzerland(2018-4-9)
; In April 2016, Armin,1 an asylum seeker in a village of Switzerland, set himself alight in the public square of the town, one of a few cases reported across Europe. He performed the act following a denied request for asylum and was saved by bystanders. We present the results of two qualitative interviews conducted with Armin, his translator and his roommate following the incident. The act is theorized through the lens of a dialogical analysis focusing on the concept of social recognition. The notion of trauma is considered as a key mediating mechanism, theorized as creating ruptures in time, memory, language, and social connections to an Other. We conclude this communicative act to represent both “being-toward-death” and a relational striving toward life; a “destruction as the cause of coming into being.” - PublicationMétadonnées seulementThe construction of shame in feminist reflexive practice and its manifestations in a research relationship(2011-11-25)
; - PublicationMétadonnées seulementContextualising the experience of South African women in the immediate aftermath of rape(2009-1-1)
; Maw, AnastasiaThe psychological impact of rape is most commonly described by drawing on a medical/ psychiatric framework, which feminists have argued fails to factor in the broader contexts of patriarchy and female oppression. Internationally, and in South Africa, feminist researchers have called for more research on rape trauma which seeks to understand the impact of rape in light of the marginalised and oppressive contexts within which particular groups of women live. In response to this need, this article presents a feminist discourse analysis of conversations with nine women living in a low-income area of Cape Town interviewed within 72 hours of being raped. The analysis revealed that the women's narratives of rape were informed by patriarchal discourses which operated to reinforce gendered relations of power. The discourses discussed in the paper are identified as discourses of damage, ostracism, resistance and survival, confessional discourses and discourses of masculinity and femininity. A multitude of cultural scripts informed the discourses drawn upon by the participants, highlighting the heterogeneous, fluid and dynamic nature of the participants' subjectivities and indicating that their relation to such discourses are far from being fixed, stable and unambiguous. Furthermore, the dominant discourses highlighted in the findings are understood to play a binding role in maintaining social structures of power.