Last week Medical Aid for Palestinians’ James Denselow chaired a CAABU briefing with Alexandra Chen, a child protection and mental health specialist and PhD candidate at Harvard University, on the topic of psychosocial support for refugees fleeing civil war in Syria. Chen has been working with MAP teams in Lebanon, training staff from our local partner organisations in the provision of psycho-social and developmental support for children affected by displacement and exploitation.
Alongside the Syrians displaced by the ongoing conflict in their home country, there are an estimated 44,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria displaced to Lebanon alone. These Palestinians are among the most vulnerable and marginalised of those affected by the civil war, suffering high rates of poverty, lack of access to services and education, and restricted legal status.
At the briefing, Chen discussed that the psychological impact of displacement for such communities, especially for children, extends beyond the trauma of the destruction they have witnessed in Syria. The severe challenges affecting the displaced, including long-term patterns of abuse, neglect and adversity experienced without adequate support, can lead to what is termed ‘toxic stress’. For children, especially those in their ‘early years’ (0-3 years), toxic stress can physically affect brain architecture, and have a lasting detrimental effect on children’s behaviour and capacity to learn.
Chen’s work with MAP has therefore stressed the importance of early years psycho-social support, and the need to also invest efforts in parents, caregivers and communities. Reflecting on what smaller agencies can do in the face of the seemingly overwhelming needs of the estimated 3.8 million refugees from Syria, she advised them to “Attempt small, fail small, and learn big” by piloting innovative projects and recording their successes so that we continue to learn better ways to assist those affected by crises and conflict.
Speaking about her experiences working with MAP, Chen said: “I have a great deal of respect for MAP’s work ... I am very encouraged by the quality of work, and the level of sensitivity to the needs of the community and their willingness to respond to that, which is something I hope to see more of in the mental health field.”
You can read more about MAP’s work in Lebanon here, and our psychosocial support projects here.