A guide for mental health workers in regions traumatized by war, human rights violations, and poverty across the globe

An increasing number of students and professionals are choosing to travel the globe to engage with the realities of trauma and human suffering through mental health aid. But in the field of global mental health, good intentions are not enough to ensure good training, development, and care. The risk of harm is real when outsiders deliver mental health aid in culturally inappropriate and otherwise naïve ways. This book, based on the experiences of the co-editors and their colleagues at Burma Border Projects (BBP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the mental health and psychosocial well-being of the displaced people of Burma, sets out global mental health theory allied with local perspectives, experiences, real-life challenges, strengths, and best practices. Topics include assessment and intervention protocols, vulnerable groups and the special challenges they present, and supervision and evaluation programs. An introduction by the editors establishes the political and health contexts for the volume. Written in a style appropriate for academic audiences and lay readers, this book will serve as a fundamental text for clinicians, interns, volunteers, and researchers who work in regions of the world that have suffered the violence of war, forced displacement, human rights violations, poverty, and oppression.