Helping children in displaced communities

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Helping children in displaced communities

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Oftentimes when communities have been devastated because of war or poverty, there is a sense of being uprooted and put in a different situation in a different environment. That creates something called culture shock. Children that are removed from one community and have to be uprooted and start again often end up creating a sense of trauma, experiencing a sense of trauma, where they’re not able to process information appropriately, where they begin to withdraw into themselves and they begin to have difficulties creating and learning. It’s very important if you are an adult, a parent of a child who has been displaced to begin to recognize that there is a need to process what has happened. Know that there’s going to be a time of adjustment that’s going to be natural. Children, you might see, become more irritable and become more problematic during this time. Take heed and know that this is a passing phase. Once your son becomes acclimated into the new environment, you will begin to see that they will sprout like a flower. Bt this time of involvement is critical. It’s very critical for you to be able to Shepard this relationship with teachers and other people in the community. Begin to supervise relationships with other friends and peers so that your son is not able to become angry or reactive during these situations but can begin to enjoy the fun and friendship of a childhood that is innocent. That innocence is so important to reclaim, because children that are often displaced find themselves in a situation of withdrawing and reliving the trauma that they’ve experienced. When children begin to create friendships and connections to others in their community that is going to be the best medicine for the trauma that they have lived. Make sure that you are there to support and to guide this process of transformation and you will see your child be just well adjusted as anybody else.

Watch Video: Helping children in displaced communities by Jorge Partida, PsyD, ...

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Jorge Partida, PsyD

Psychologist

Dr. Jorge Partida is a Psychologist, Green Advocate and Indigenous Healer. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to Chicago at nine years of age. Dr. Jorge has been a consultant on many national and international projects in the areas of education, health, diversity and spirituality.  Dr. Jorge has worked with local and national governments to coordinate services for those most impacted by poverty, war and displacement.  He has worked in Liberia Africa in the repatriation of boy soldiers and has worked to form “intentional communities” in poverty impacted countries of Latin-America.

Dr. Jorge is the author of The Promise of The Fifth Sun and A Week of Awakening.  His writing integrates psychology with native healing traditions to form an easy to use self-help approach.  Dr. Jorge has designed and facilitated healing workshops that incorporate ritual and practice. 

Dr. Jorge has served as Director of the PsyD program at John F. Kennedy University and as Deputy Director of Behavioral Health with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.  Today, Dr. Jorge is the Executive Director of the United States Green Building Council-Los Angeles (USGBC-LA).  He believes that the discussion of sustainability provides a platform to address today’s most complex issues. 

For more than twenty years, Dr. Jorge has presented mental health segments on television and radio. He has worked with many networks, including Univision, Telemundo, HITN-TV in Spanish and CBS, UPN, NBC and PBS in English. 

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