Children and Families Affected By Armed Conflicts in Africa
Author: Joanne Corbin, Editor
Page Count: 240
ISBN: 978-0-87101-442-9
Published: 2012
Price range: $33.11 through $36.99
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Children and Families Affected by Armed Conflicts in Africa: Implications and Strategies for Helping Professionals in the United States aims to enhance the awareness and knowledge of helping professionals who work with children and families who have experienced armed conflict in Africa. It draws on the experiences of working practitioners with populations affected by armed conflicts, specifically in Uganda and Rwanda.
In this book, you will hear from African practitioners discussing the political, economic, cultural, social, and spiritual elements of life that have been affected by war. It is timely, in that an increasing number of people have immigrated from Africa since the early 1900s as a result of the impact of armed conflict on their lives and families.
This book is unique in that it connects the issues of children who have been exposed to armed conflicts in several African contexts to the U.S. practice arena, reflecting on the interventions being used in Africa and their applicability in this country. The content is relevant for those agencies and public education systems providing services to immigrant and refugee populations from Africa.
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Introduction
Joanne Corbin
Section 1: What We Know
Chapter 1: Africans Coming to the United States from Contexts of Armed Conflict: Relevance for Helping Professionals
Joanne Corbin
Chapter 2: The Nature of Children’s Participation in Armed Conflict
Jo Becker
Chapter 3: Experiences of Refugee and Asylee Families Affected by Extreme Violence: A Personal Narrative
Eugenie Mukeshimana
Section 2: African Experiences and Responses
Chapter 4: Peace Building
Reverend Father Remigio C. Obol
Chapter 5: Psychosocial Approaches to Addressing the Needs of Children Affected by Armed Conflict in Northern Uganda
Stella Ojera
Chapter 6: Global Mental Health Programs for Children and Families Facing Adversity: Development of the Family Strengthening Intervention in Rwanda
Theresa S. Betancourt, Sarah E. Myers-Ohki, Sara N. Stulac, Christine Mushashi, Felix R. Cyamatare, William R. Beardslee
Section 3: Practice Implications for Social Workers
Chapter 7: Assessment and Treatment Issues for Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Effects on Children, Family, and Culture
Joan Granucci Lesser
Chapter 8: African Approaches to Healing Children and Families Affected by Armed Conflict: Implications for Western Practice
Joanne Corbin
Chapter 9: Ecological Framework for Social Work Practice with African Populations Affected by Armed Conflict
Joanne Corbin
Conclusion
Glossary
Index
About the Editor
About the Contributors
Joanne Corbin, PhD, MSS, BA, is associate professor and chair of the research sequence at Smith College School for Social Work (SSW), in Northampton, Massachusetts. Dr. Corbin’s current research focuses on children and families involved in armed conflict in northern Uganda. She has conducted research on the reintegration experiences of former child soldiers in northern Uganda and on the resettlement of internally displaced populations in northern Uganda. An outgrowth of this research was the development of a training-of-trainers program with service providers in northern Uganda addressing the psychosocial needs of individuals and families affected by armed conflict. Dr. Corbin developed a social work internship program in northern Uganda for students from Smith College School for Social Work, and she has written about the values conflicts that U.S.-based social workers experience in international settings. She has also explored global social work issues in South Africa, Tanzania, and Canada. In 2010, Dr. Corbin was appointed to the Council on Social Work Education’s Council for Global Learning, Research and Practice, which seeks to develop social workers who are competent in international practice. Dr. Corbin is a clinical social worker and is trained in family therapy.
Children and Families Affected by Armed Conflicts in Africa is an impressive and timely addition to the social work and mental health literature. The book integrates research, concepts, and practice wisdom from multiple cultures to provide lessons that promote culturally and contextually relevant practice interventions. Drawing on her many years of engagement with child soldiers in Northern Uganda, editor Joanne Corbin’s work extends our understanding of trauma and resiliency. Corbin’s introductory and concluding chapters provide coherence to an excellent mix of chapters authored by African and American mental health experts. The book focuses on children and families affected by conflicts in Africa, especially Uganda and Rwanda, but should be widely read by those interested in culturally competent response to persons who have experienced violence and trauma in any setting.
Lynne M. Healy
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor
University of Connecticut School of Social Work