Projects in Development

   

UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE TRANSITION FROM ADOLESCENCE INTO YOUNG ADULTHOOD IN SEVERELY STRESSED SOCIETIES 

In response to the rise of extremism and youth violence in traumatized societies and the surge in the worldwide youth population, CSMHI is seeking to understand and address the adolescent passage into young adulthood in severely stressed societies nationally and internationally. CSMHI can ably tackle this problem on several fronts because of its expertise in large group psychology, human development, understanding traumatized societies, and unofficial diplomacy. In pursuit of this, CSMHI, in collaboration with colleagues, is developing the following projects:

Parenting Adolescents and Emerging Adults in Severely Stressed Societies: A Research/Action Project in Richmond , Virginia

The inner cities of many American cities are traumatized and traumatizing environments, where families are destabilized by histories and current circumstances of crime, poverty, struggling schools, racism, and unemployment.  First Lady Laura Bush is one of many at the national level who is promoting a plan to help at-risk youth.  One prong of Mrs. Bush’s plan is to create more stable families. CSMHI’s focus is to create more stable families, with the particular and unique emphasis on parenting of adolescents and emerging young adults in these communities.  Our cadre of researchers drawn from the CSMHI faculty, the UVA Curry School of Education, and the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia is embarking upon a study of the Richmond inner-city.  We aim to optimize parenting of the adolescent and young adult in the inner-city through:

  • understanding the forces that bear upon parenting, the concepts and styles of parenting, the failures of development and of parenting, and  the parents’ unconscious and conscious views of their children and the society they live in;
  • consulting with Richmond ’s civic, educational and religious leaders and professional colleagues  at the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University in order to establish critical relationships and entry points into inner city Richmond ;
  • developing workshops for parents and other caregivers to increase growth-promoting parenting of adolescent and young adults, with the end goal of reducing societal trauma.

Understanding and Addressing the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood in Severely Stressed Societies: A Collaborative Research/Action Project in the North Caucasus

The recruitment of youth by extremist groups provides a basis for the continuation and potential expansion of a wide range of violent terrorist activities, not only in the North Caucasus but elsewhere.  CSMHI and the Institute for Resource and Security Studies are continuing to develop a collaborative research/action project in the North Caucasus which aims to improve understanding of the adolescent passage into adulthood in stressed societies and to develop programs that support healthy adolescent development.  We have developed the relationships with the indigenous psychosocial providers, have established our research network, have designed elements of the program, have launched letters of inquiry to foundations, and are now re-designing the exploratory phase of this project to collect psychosocial information about the youth population.  This project, while focusing on the North Caucasus region, aims to provide research and program templates for youth in severely stressed societies where the social fabric includes extremist options for vulnerable adolescents.

STRENGTHENING SOCIETIES WHICH HAVE UNDERGONE TRAUMATIC EVENTS

CSMHI seeks to understand and assist societies which have undergone traumatic events. 

Mental Health Consultation to Psychosocial Providers Serving Beslan, N. Ossetia:Prevention and Intervention in a Severely Traumatized Community

As the global community watched with impotent horror, 31 terrorists with links to Chechnya held more than 1,000 children and adults hostage in Beslan , Russia in September 2004.  More than 350 children and adults were massacred.  CSMHI has been invited by The Union “Women of the Don Region” to provide mental health consultation to the Russian psychosocial providers working with the survivors, the community, and the teachers of Beslan.  In addition, The Union “Women of the Don Region” and the National Peace Foundation have invited CSMHI to work with them on strategic planning to strengthen the traumatized society of Beslan.  We began this work when several representatives from The Union “Women of the Don Region” came to Virginia for a workshop.  We will continue our work with The Union “Women of the Don Region” and the National Peace Foundation in Spring/Summer 2005.

   ENHANCING HUMAN RIGHTS WORK

Under the extreme pressures of human rights work, human rights organizations often do not have the opportunity to review, understand, and learn about those fields central to their daily work. In particular, trauma psychology and dispute resolution. CSMHI is interested in filling this training gap through the provision of workshops for human rights organizations. In pursuit of this, CSMHI, in collaboration with colleagues, is developing the following project:

Interchange between CSMHI and Tlachinollan

CSMHI is intending to share its knowledge regarding traumatized societies and dispute resolution with Tlachinollan, a human rights center working in the impoverished, indigenous and militarized La Montana region of Guerrero ,  Mexico . Tlachinollan has requested that CSMHI conduct workshops to enhance its mediation of land disputes between villages and between indigenous groups and their adversaries. Workshops on the psychological dimensions of human rights abuse will enhance the legal representation provided by Tlachinollan's legal team. The CSMHI team consultation members will include CSMHI director and faculty, the International Dispute Resolution Services division of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (Washington , D.C. ), and UVa.'s Institute for Environmental Negotiation