Jesoor Organization

Programs

Trauma Program

The psychosocial situation of traumatized people has attracted some
transcultural researchers to study the contextual circumstances of traumatic
experiences and coping styles, instead of medicalized peoples’ sufferings.
Unfortunately, PTSD has become synonymous to trauma experience, instead
of seeing it as a normal response to an extraordinary psychological trauma.
Not all those exposed to traumatic experiences will necessarily develop PTSD
symptoms, nor will all traumatic experiences lead to pathological reactions.

The Program would contribute to the trauma counseling training of mental
health professionals in Palestine and the neighbor countries. In the
Palestinian context, trauma is repetitive and on-going, which make Palestine
one of the most important areas of the world to study the biopsychosocial
impact of traumatic experiences and possible practical approaches to tackle
traumatic reactions. Although political violence seems as pandemic social
problem, it has been endemic in some countries, like Palestine. It has
devastating effects not only on a country’s economy but also on the human
well being and welfare.

A feature in the Israel-Palestine conflict is the accumulation of traumas that
both partners have experienced, and which apparently are transmitted from
generation to generation. One may say that the conflict between the
Palestinians and the Israelis is between two victims. The Israelis, survivors of
a long history of persecution and discrimination, are still bearing the scars of
victimization. Palestinians have been uprooted from their land since 1948,
and have lived constantly under Israeli military occupation since 1967.

Strategic Objective of the Program

The strategic objective of the program is to contribute to creating a culture of
respect, democracy and feelings of security and self-esteem and in reducing
the psychosocial factors that favour inclusion, violence and intolerance, and to
improve the quality of social relationships between different segments of the
Palestinian population through contextual analysis of traumatic experiences
and resilience, combating trauma consequences and contribute to the
improvement of services offered to traumatized people.

Course in Trauma for women

Jesoor has accomplished a training course about Trauma and possible ways
of intervention in collaboration with the Women Affairs Association. The
course covers topics related to meaning of trauma, ways of intervention and
recovery from trauma in addition to others topics. Professionals from Jesoor
used different ways of training methods, where around 25 women participated
in the course. Full Details

Psychological, social and community
intervention program for Traumatized
Children and their Families

While politicians in Palestine were preoccupied with a debate on the issue of
the declaration of a sovereign Palestinian state, economists ponder on the
sustainability of resources, and human rights activists campaigned for the
rule of law, the disengagement plan and other political issues, people,
especially children and women whose welfare should be at the core of our
strategic planning, are still are area that needs comprehensive intervention
programmes. In Gaza Strip, children under the 16 years comprise more than
50 per cent of the population. Children are subjected to traumatic experience,
arrests, physical and psychological torture and to other human rights
violations. If the mental health problems of these children are not dealt with
now, it might become too late as they turn into unruly teenagers and
subsequently scarred and difficult adults. It is thus necessary, if not urgent, to
address this matter while the children can be reached and rehabilitated, and
before it becomes too late. Children in Gaza need to be educated, to have a
good self-esteem and also they need well-equipped parents to help them
with their problems. To respond to those children's needs we should start
working with parents, teachers, and child care workers. As the situation
stands today, children will need for more than just flats, classrooms, desks
and textbooks. They need a good program for rehabilitation that would allow
them to re-integrate themselves into society, the family structure and the
national process. In the Palestinian context, to be a parent is one of the most
complicated jobs due to a legacy of repetitive, continuous, and multiple
traumatic experience that parents have been passing through. Parenting
requires a great deal of knowledge, and skills for which a long process of
informal training and education are crucially needed. All of these approaches
are very likely to be achieved through our project. The long tern of objective of
the program is to offer and develop quality of mental health services for
Palestinian children and their families living in the Gaza Strip, and contribute
to creating a generation of children raised in a culture of respects, healthy
child-parent relationships and feelings of security and self-esteem.

Coming Programs

Research and capacity building Program.

Torture and human rights abuse Program.