The nature of the refugee phenomenon is examined and the position of mental health professionals is located in relation to it. The various uses of the word ‘trauma’ are explored and its application to the refugee context is examined. It is proposed that refugees’ response to adversity is not limited to being traumatized but includes resilience and Adversity-Activated Development (AAD). Particular emphasis is given to the distinction between resilience and AAD. The usefulness of the ‘Trauma Grid’ in the therapeutic process with refugees is also discussed. The Trauma Grid avoids global impressions and enables a more comprehensive and systematic way of identifying the individual refugee's functioning in the context of different levels, i.e. individual, family, community and society/culture. Finally, I discuss implications for therapeutic work with refugees.

Experiences of adversity can generate positive psychological effects alongside negative impacts. Little research to date has evaluated predictors of post-traumatic growth in mental or community healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a survey of 854 community and mental healthcare staff in the United Kingdom in July to September 2020, multiple linear regression was used to determine the association between hypothesised risk and protective factors (personal, organisational and environmental variables) and total scores on the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory–Short Version. Positive self-reflection activities, black and minority ethnic status, developing new healthcare knowledge and skills, connecting with friends and family, feeling supported by senior management, feeling supported by the UK people, and anxiety about the personal and work-related consequences of COVID-19 each significantly independently predicted greater post-traumatic growth. Working in a clinical role and in mental healthcare or community physical healthcare predicted lower post-traumatic growth. Our research supports the value of taking an organisational growth-focused approach to occupational health during times of adversity, by supporting staff to embrace opportunities for personal growth. Valuing staff’s cultural and religious identity and encouraging self-reflective activities, such as mindfulness and meditation, may help to promote post-traumatic growth.

Using two different stories from our practice as illustrations, we focus on the uniqueness and complexity of the predicament of refugee fathers. In the context of the current phenomenon of the feminisation of refugees, refugee fathers tend to be overlooked. In this article, we draw attention to the specific difficulties refugee fathers face, as well as illustrating our synergic approach to working in this field, which, whilst not neglecting the person's distress and suffering, also identifies the strengths they retain (resilience) and the new positive experiences that they gain by their very exposure to adversity (adversity-activated development). By collaborating synergically with the refugee fathers’ strengths, in the context of their trauma, it is possible to heal their traumatic experiences and to activate their potential to the maximum.

This paper attempts to develop a psychological perspective on the phenomenon of terrorism while attending to the epistemological traps inherent in this kind of endeavour. Etymological, mythological, historical and psychological examinations of terrorism and panic enable the emergence of key characteristics – polarization and indiscriminateness – and a split between reality and imagination. The concept of a unipolar archetype is developed to account for the dark fascination and gripping power of these phenomena. The numinous nature of unipolar archetypal possession is identified and discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper attempts to develop a new framework within which to comprehend the interrelationship between the ‘inner’ and ‘external’ worlds, between the personal and social, and among the intra-/inter-/trans-psychic realms. It proposes the Umwelt as a heuristic concept to grasp and formulate these interconnections. Then, it argues that if we expand the Jungian theory of archetypes by introducing the concepts of ‘network of archetypal images’ and ‘collective structures of meaning’, it is possible to develop a more coherent framework to address ‘therapeutic encounters’ in the context of humanitarian work. The process of ‘therapeutic encounter’ is distinguished from ‘doing therapy’. An example of such an encounter is offered and a new reading is suggested of processes and phenomena that are often examined through existing approaches. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Προσφυγική κρίση, μια κρίση με τραγικές επιπτώσεις για τους πληθυσμούς που παρασύρονται από τη δίνη του πολέμου και της αναγκαστικής φυγής αλλά και αιτία σοβαρών κλυδωνισμών για τις χώρες υποδοχής. Σε αυτό το σκηνικό, όπου πρωταγωνιστούν η βία του πολέμου και η οδύνη της προσφυγιάς, έρχονται να προστεθούν η ξενοφοβία και ο ρατσισμός. Η παρούσα επιστημονική έκδοση επιχειρεί να ρίξει φως σε κάποιες απ’ τις εκφάνσεις του πολύπτυχου προσφυγικού ζητήματος. Ιστορικές αναφορές αλλά και πτυχές, όπως αυτές που άπτονται του κοινωνικού στίγματος και των στάσεων απέναντι στον «Ξένο» αποτέλεσαν ένα μέρος της εισαγωγής και του γενικότερου προβληματισμού. Στις μέρες μας, άλλωστε, ο Ξένος ως απειλή μαστίζει ακόμα την κοινωνία μας, παρά τις φωνές, τις συλλογικότητες, τις δομές και τις κινήσεις αλληλεγγύης και στήριξης των προσφύγων, που κάθε άλλο παρά λίγες είναι. Αναλογιζόμενοι, παράλληλα, τις δυσμενείς συνθήκες μεταχείρισης των προσφύγων, το τραύμα του ξεριζωμού από την πατρίδα αλλά και τις πολλαπλές επιπτώσεις του προσφυγικού προβλήματος στην παγκόσμια κοινότητα βασικό στόχο της έκδοσης αποτέλεσε η διείσδυση στις κοινωνικές, πολιτικές και ηθικές...