Dear colleague,

The new number of Intervention (Vol 4, No.1) has now been delivered to all subscribers.
We apologise for the short delay in the production of this edition.

I hope you are already familiar with our publication, Intervention, The International Journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial work and Counselling in Areas of Armed Conflict, which brings special focus to local field reports, training, evaluation and practical implementation within this important discipline.

Volume 4: Number 1:

Special Focus: Debate
Psychosocial interventions, or integrated programming for well-being?
John Williamson and Malia Robinson argue that trying to establish psychosocial programming as a distinct sector may not be a good idea. They state that material, biological and psychosocial aspects of well-being are all integrally related. The authors also believe that it is important that all interventions aimed at people affected by armed conflict should be informed by, and incorporate a working understanding of the relevance of pyschosocial issues.

Debate: Mark van Ommeren, Jodi Morris and Shekhar Saxena: A response to Williamson and Robinson;
Integrated programme planning and psychosocial concepts in humanitarian response.

Debate: Alastair Ager, Alison Strang & Mike Wessells: A response to Williamson and Robinson;
Integrating psychosocial issues in humanitarian and development assistance.

Violence with a purpose: exploring the functions and meaning of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Roberto Beneduce, Luca Jourdan, Timothy Raeymaekers & Koen Vlassenroot continue the discussion about Reconciliation in Practice (Volume 3, Number 3), exploring the political and socio-psychological functions of violence in rural areas of Congo. Understanding the reason behind seemingly senseless violence is a condition for rebuilding a peaceful society and for successful rehabilitation programmes for ex-combatants.

Field Reports
Supporting refugeee women in a multicultural group.
In a field report under the title 'Bread and Roses' Katharina Ley describes support and reconciliation work in a multicultural, multilingual therapeutic group of African refugee women.

Responding to the psychological impact of the Tsunami in a war zone
Marianne van der Veen & Daya Somasundaram report from the war-torn Jaffna district in the north of Sri Lanka. After the tsunami of 26 December 2004 a mental health task-force was formed. The approach of this task force, a co-operative initiative between 18 humanitarian agencies.

Mental health of Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Azaad Kazsam & Anar Nanji present a qualitative field survey aimed at gaining some understanding of collective factors influencing mental health in a refugee camp in Karachi. They also look at coping mechanisms used by refugees in the camp.

What can be learned from 'crazy' psychologists? A community approach to psychological support in post-conflict Guatemala.
Peter Berliner et al. present a field report from a community-based project for victims of violence and torture in post-conflict Guatemala. Although this community approach uses health as the entry strategy, its aim is not only to improve health but to stimulate the creation of social structures within the community capable of fostering social and political transformation.

Intervention is published in close co-operation with the War Trauma Foundation and IRCT with the co-operation of Wolters Kluwers/Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.

Online Resources.

Intervention is participating in several online projects to make information available to the widest possible readership. They include the PILOTS Index to Traumatic Stress Literature ( http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/publications/pilots/ )

Summaries and papers from previous numbers are downloadable from http://www.interventionjournal.com .

Full papers from the current issues are available from Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins at http://www.lww.com .

Call for papers: Ex-combatants

In November 2006 we hope to publish a special issue on the theme: "ex-combatants: reintegration into society". Theoretical contributions, research articles, field reports and reviews of inspiring books are all welcome. If you would like to contribute, or if you know somebody else who could, please contact us.

Perhaps you would like to suggest some other subject for inclusion, or want to take up an issue with one of our authors? Perhaps you know of a librarian who should review the publication, or a colleague who would benefit from a subscription to Intervention...if there is any way in which we can help each other, please do not hesitate to ask us.

Yours faithfully
Guus van der Veer
Editor

Intervention is downloadable!
Our new website contains downloadable versions of past articles as well as current news and events.
www.interventionjournal.com