Group Treatment with Survivors of Torture 1 - The Orientation Group: PSOT's Approach to Welcoming and Further Resourcing

This webinar, from March 18, 2015, features Melba Sullivan, Ph.D. of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture.
This webinar is part of the National Capacity Building (NCB) webinar series. NCB is a project of the Center for Victims of Torture.

Rating: 

Average: 3.7 (3 votes)

Date: 

Thursday, 19 March 2015

Presenter(s): 

Melba Nicholson Sullivan, PhD
With this webinar, the NCB Project began a series:  Group Treatment with Survivors of Torture.
 
Survivors of Torture programs across the US are creating and using innovative and effective techniques in providing treatment services through groups. In this series, we will feature three torture rehabilitation programs that are conducting group treatment, within Judith Herman's three-staged framework - as written about in her book, Trauma and Recovery.
 
The first session in this series took place on March 18th at 2:00 PM EDT and features Melba Sullivan of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture.  Dr. Sullivan will discuss PSOT's four-week client orientation groups, representing Stage One - safety and stabilization.
 
This series will be of particular interest to clinicians working with survivors of torture, but others in your organization may find it useful as well.

Objectives

After attending this webinar participants will be able to: 
  • Identify the benefits of this orientation group  in working with survivors of torture
  • Learn a group treatment model for survivors of torture that’s manualized
  • Begin designing a group session unique to your clients' needs and program's resources
  • Share group intervention strategies with peers

Presenter

Melba J. Nicholson Sullivan, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Director of Training, Staff Psychologist
NYU/Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture 
New York, NY
Dr. Melba Sullivan comes to the Program for Survivors of Torture after living in Nigeria, and completing a Global Mental Health Certificate with the Harvard Program for Refugee Trauma. She provides supervision, clinical assessment, group and individual therapy and regularly facilitates trainings in managing workplace stress and working with trauma survivors.  She is curious about the healing effects of hope.
Dr. Sullivan is a graduate of Howard University, and earned her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in clinical/community psychology with a specialization in developmental psychology. She completed her clinical internship and postdoc at Duke University where she started working with children, couples, and families negotiating histories of neglect, abuse and trauma. At Northwestern University, she directed the Family Institute's Community Outreach Program, taught in the Marital and Family Therapy and Counseling Psychology programs, and served as Resource Director for the law school's Cook County (Chicago) Juvenile Court Clinic. She created youth development programs in North Carolina and Illinois, and was a member of the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership. The partnership was charged with developing a comprehensive state plan that addresses the social and emotional needs of children. 

Resources

  • Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture Orientation Group 4-Week Group Therapy Manual for Clinicians
  • Basoglu, M, Jaranson, J, Mollica, R, & Kastrup, M. (2001) Torture and Mental Health: A Research Overview. In E. Gerrity, T. Keane, & F. Tuma, (Eds.), The Mental Health Consequences of Torture. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
  • Flack, W., Litz, B., & Keane, T. (1998) Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of War- Zone-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Flexible, Hierarchical Approach. In V. Follette, J., Ruzek, & F. Abueg (Eds.), Cognitive- Behavioral Therapies for Trauma. New York: The Guilford Press.
  • Fraenkel, P. (2007). Groupes multifamiliaux pour familles sans domicile fixe (Multiple family discussion groups for families that are homeless). In S. Cook et A. Almosnino (Eds.),Thérapies Multifamiliales, des groupes comme agents thérapeutiques. (Multiple family therapy: Groups as therapeutic agents).
  • Fraenkel, P., Hameline, T., & Shannon, M. (2009). Narrative and collaborative practices in work with families that are homeless. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35(3), 325-342.
  • Jaranson, J., Kinzie, J., Friedman, M., Ortiz, D., Friedman, M. J., Southwick, S., Kastrup, M. & Mollica, R. (2001). Assessment, diagnosis, and intervention. In E. Gerrity, T. M. Keane, & F. Tuma (Eds.), The mental health consequences of torture (pp. 249-290). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
  • Kinzie, J. (1985). Overview of clinical issues in the treatment of Southeast Asian refugees. In T. Owan (Ed.), Southeast Asian mental health: Treatment, prevention, services, training, and research (pp. 113-135). Rockville, MD: US Department of Helath and Human Services.
  • Kinzie, J., Leung, P. K., Bui, A., Keopraseuth, K. O., Rath, B., Riley, C., Fleck, J., & Ades, M. (1988). Group therapy with Sourthesat Asian refugees. Community Mental Health Journal, 24, 157-166.
  • Laub, B. (9.11.2010). The Recent-Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP): A Comprehensive approach for early EMDR intervention (EEI). HAP Presentation, Hicksville, NY.
  • Leahy, R.L., & Holland, S.J. (2000). Treatment plans and interventions for depression and anxiety disorder. New York: The Guildford Press.
  • Levine, P. (2005). Healing Trauma. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, Inc.
  • Marotta, S., (2003) Unflinching Empathy: Counselors and Tortured Refugees, Journal of Counseling and Development. 111-114.
  • Mendelsohn, M., Herman, J.L., Schatzow, E., Coco.M, Kallivayalil, D., & Lavitan, J. (2011). The Trauma Recovery Group: A Guide for Practitioners. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Murakami, N., Sullivan, M., & Smith, H (2014). Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture Orientation Group: 4-Week Group Therapy Manual for Clinicians, 4th edition. New York, NY: The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture.
  • Shapiro, E. (9.11.2010). The Recent-Traumatic Episode Protocol (R-TEP): A Comprehensive approach for early EMDR intervention (EEI). HAP Presentation, Hicksville, NY.
  • Smith, H. (2003). Despair, resilience, and the meaning of family: Group therapy with French-speaking African survivors of torture. In B.C. Wallace & R.T. Carter (Eds.), Understanding and dealing with violence: A multicultural approach. (pp. 291-316). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Smith, H., Keller, A., & Lhewa, D. (Eds.). (2007). "...Like a Refugee Camp on First Avenue": Insights and Experiences from the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. New York, NY: The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. 

Attachment(s): 

PDF icon PSOT Orientation Group PPT.pdf

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