Stress on local and international psychotherapists in the crisis region of Iraq

Abstract

Background: Local and international Psychotherapists working with war survivors are confronted with a whole variety of burdens. The close contact to their clients and the conversations about terror, flight and genocides, they are frequently subject to vicarious traumatization resulting from these events and reveal a risk of developing secondary traumatization. Methods: We interviewed 54 local psychotherapists and 28 psychotherapists originating from abroad who were treating survivors of ISIS terror in refugee camps organised by non-government organisations (NGOs). Results: The results show that local and non-local psychotherapists who work in a context of humanitarian crises reveal a risk of developing secondary traumatization. The results of this present study would also indicate that the secondary traumatization depends both on individual characteristics such as bonding styles and personal experiences and also on the ambient characteristics such as the degree of traumatization of the patients. Conclusion: The study revealed that the local and non-local psychotherapists had a range of different pressure factors and helpful resources which indicated that better caring/support, supervision and organization are needed to enable psychotherapists to perform more effectively in war regions from the point of view of preventive healthcare.

Integrating Cognitive Behavioural and Islamic Principles in Psychology and Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review

“…As discussed, western-based approaches are routinely used with Muslim communities worldwide. Furthermore, globalisation in the form of western influence has also shaped the practice and teaching of psychology and psychotherapy in predominantly Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia (El-Naggar, 2012), UAE (Al-Darmaki & Yaaqeib, 2015), Iraq (Kizilhan, 2020), Bangladesh, Pakistan (Blowers et al, 1987), Malaysia, Indonesia (Geerlings et al, 2014) and others predominantly Muslims African countries (Nwoye, 2015). Importing highly manualised and protocol-led interventions such as CBT might sound like the perfect solution for training institutions and service providers that wish to rely on evidence-based practice, yet lack regional accrediting and regulatory bodies.…”

Observation of Rare Psychosocial and Mental Health Symptoms in ISIS Psychiatric Patients: A Pilot Study Among ISIS Affiliates

“…ISIS, also known as Islamic state in Iraq and al-Sham (ancient name of Syria), is a radical Sunni Muslim organisation whose main aim was to restore the state of Islam or caliphate in the region of Iraq, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and some parts of Turkey. Following the severe attacks in some parts of Iraq and Syria by ISIS at the beginning of 2014, people in Iraq and Syria witnessed a massive internal wave of displacement and migration from the areas of attack to the safer zone that is under government control (Kizilhan, 2020;Hosseini, 2019). One of the most prominent ISIS offensives in Iraq was the so-called "Northern Iraq offensive" in August 2014.…”

Training of psychotherapists in post-conflict regions: A Community case study in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

“…There is a risk that NGOs will employ under-qualified practitioners for the treatment of severe mental diseases such as PTSD ( 35 ). Additionally, the difficult working conditions pose a risk for secondary traumatization ( 36 ). International NGOs usually stay on site for a limited amount of time: While there were 24 international NGOs in Iraq in 2016 ( 37 ), there were only 11 remaining in July 2021 ( 38 ).…”