부산대학교 도서관

The Syrian conflict has created mass forced displacement and severe humanitarian needs, including psychological needs. Training Syrian mental health professionals in specialised psychological support maximises resources and enables cultural sensitivity. The impact of its provision in the context of a shared reality and limited resources on Syrian mental health professionals is poorly understood. Part 1 comprises a systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 randomised controlled trials of psychological, social and welfare interventions of torture survivors. It is an update of a previous Cochrane review. Results showed effects for psychological intervention versus comparator for PTSD symptoms and functioning at the end of treatment. These results were different to the previous review, and while the methodological quality of studies in this review was higher, confidence in the results are questionable for reasons discussed. Part 2 is conducted in two parts. Part A uses quantitative methodology to investigate Syrian mental health professionals' quality of life overall using a well-established questionnaire that was translated to Arabic. Part B interviews forcibly displaced Syrian mental health professionals to explore their shared reality with clients, self-disclosure and the impact of providing therapy. Findings highlighted higher mean scores of secondary traumatic stress than samples in other studies. Similar characteristics allowed Syrian mental health professionals to better empathise with clients and understand the culture and language. All participants who made reference to difficult aspects of therapy also made reference to gaining satisfaction from helping clients. Part 3 comprises a discussion of assumptions, reflections and learnings relevant to conducting research in this field.