:
Nora Alarifi
Pharaon, Ed.D., CGP, President, Pharaon Consulting Group,
Rutherford, New Jersey
This session
attempts to shed some light on the interface among trauma, groups,
and culture as demonstrated in a therapeutic group that aimed at
providing support to victims of domestic violence within the Arab
American community. The presenter used her personal and professional
experiences since 9/11/2001 in running a “Family Well-Being” group
to demonstrate how the group members used the power of group therapy
to help them deal with their traumatic experiences where culture
played a mediating role in the group therapy process. These women
faced many challenges as they dealt with "double jeopardy," such as
being Arab American women traumatized personally by violence within
their own community, and concurrently being the subject of
discrimination and hatred due to ignorance about Arabs and Muslims
within the larger society.
Learning Objectives:
The attendee will be able to:
1. Utilize strategies presented
for working with similar therapeutic trauma groups.
2. Analyze intrapsychic lives of
women from diverse cultural backgrounds.
3. Compare and contrast special
groups across different cultures.
4. Integrate the interplay
between trauma and cultural identity in group work.
Course References:
1. Naber, N. (2000). Ambiguous
insiders: An investigation of Arab American invisibility. Journal
of Ethnic and Racial Studies. 23(1): 37-61.
2. Moustafa I. Sueif and Ramadan A.
Ahmed. (Fall 2001). Psychology in the Arab World: Past, Present
and Future. International Journal of Group Tensions, Vol. 30, No.
3,
3. Pharaon, Nora Alarifi(2004). The
Arab Americans in NYC: A Forgotten Community: Living in an Age of
Terror: Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience
http://www.pharaonconsulting.com/20041027living.html
