MA in Refugee Care
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(Tavistock course code: M35)
offered jointly by the University of Essex and The
Tavistock Clinic
For enquiries please contact the Course Director:
Prof Renos Papadopoulos
This innovative degree is offered jointly by the
Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies of the University of Essex and the Tavistock
Clinic. It is a one-year, full-time programme that combines expertise from both
of these centres of excellence.
The aim of this degree programme is to equip students to work directly with
refugees and asylum seekers. More specifically, it prepares students for work as
competent, reflective and pro-active workers with refugees in a variety of
different work settings (from advocacy to clinical) and remits (from managerial
to directly therapeutic) to develop a systematic understanding of the
complexities of the various interconnecting contexts involved in the refugee
situation - from societal parameters to individual and family dynamics, as well
as including the institutional dynamics of the refugee services, aid
organisations and, importantly, of the personal dynamics of the refugee workers
themselves to meet the challenges imposed by those wider societal parameters
(e.g. changing legislation, political priorities, public opinion) that affect
refugees directly or indirectly to conceptualise and formulate refugee related
projects (for research and/or service purposes).
To address these aims, the degree programme introduces
students to the theoretical, practical and experiential facets of
conceptualising and working with refugees; it approaches the refugee condition
from a spherical perspective whilst also providing a particular focus on the
therapeutic considerations.
Supervision provides an important forum for helping to
integrate different areas of work, and for developing conceptual frameworks
which facilitate the direct work with refugees. Special emphasis in supervision
is given to the experiential dimension, where students are encouraged to include
their own personal responses and feelings and to reflect on the impact of their
own position as refugee workers both on their clients as well as on themselves.
Research in this field is woven into the fabric of the
curriculum, with written assignments designed to deepen and systematise the
students' knowledge of the material presented, the work observed and their
placement experiences. Emphasis is placed upon reflective and co-operative
learning styles.
Emphasis of this MA programme
The emphasis of this MA is on introducing a therapeutic dimension and
a psychosocial perspective to the work with asylum seekers / refugees.
The explicit intention is to make workers more effective therapeutically, in
whatever role they have in working in this field (e.g. in management, education,
law, social work, psychology, psychotherapy, community work). Therefore, the
usefulness of this course is not limited to those who intend to work
psychotherapeutically (in the strict sense of the word) with refugees. It is for
this reason that the title refers to Care rather than to 'psychotherapy'.
Entrance requirements
A University degree (or equivalent) in any subject, and a record of relevant
work/ experience or serious intent to work in relevant settings with
refugees/asylum seekers.
Does this MA degree lead to any professional
registration?
No, this Masters degree is not a professional training. However, if students
already possess a professional registration this MA may assist them in obtaining
a speciality within that registration.
Duration
The MA degree course lasts for one year full time. The first term begins in
October and the third term ends in June. Students are then expected to complete
their dissertations which are submitted in September.
Time commitment and the location of modules
This is two-site degree course. Two modules are offered on Tuesdays at the
University of Essex (in Colchester, Essex – 48 minutes by train from Liverpool
Street station in London) and two other modules at the Tavistock Clinic (in
London, NW3) on Thursdays. In addition, students are expected to undertake (a) a
systematic observation of an organisation and to (b) a placement in a relevant
institution/service. This means that depending on the arrangements for the
observation and placement, students may be involved either for two days
(minimum) or for four days (maximum) for most of the of the year.
Career prospects
Graduates who were working already in a service for refugees/asylum seekers,
will be able to enhance their work substantially by introducing a therapeutic
and psychosocial dimension to it. Those who did not work in this field before
will have the right qualifications to do so after graduating from this MA
programme. However, what should not be underestimated is that this is a
relatively new and growing field, especially at a University post-graduate level
and, therefore, the prospects for employment in this sector are likely to be
considerable.
Theoretical orientation
Based on the expertise and tradition of both the Centre for Psychoanalytic
Studies (of the University of Essex) and the Tavistock Clinic, this MA course
offers a combination of psychodynamic / psychoanalytic (broadly defined) and
systemic approaches.
Tuition Fees
The Tuition Fee for the 2009-10 Academic Year are £5,590 for Home/EU
students and £9,900 for Overseas students. This covers all taught, practical
and experiential parts of the degree (including the 'observation' and
'placement').
Teaching staff
In addition to Professor Renos Papadopoulos (who is on the staff both
of the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies of the University of Essex, and of the
Tavistock Clinic) the teaching staff of this degree course include members of
staff of both the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies of the University of Essex,
and of the Tavistock Clinic, as well as invited outside specialists.
Description of the Degree Course
Structure of the degree: The degree course consists of five modules
and a dissertation
|
|
Required assignments |
Word Length |
|
Module 1
Therapeutic Care for Refugees |
One Essay
|
5000
|
|
Module 2
Contexts of the Refugee Experience |
One Essay
|
5000
|
|
Module 3
Psychoanalysis of Groups and Organizations
(Observation) |
One Essay
|
5000
|
|
Module 4
Psychosocial Perspectives on Human Rights
|
One Essay |
5000 |
|
Module 5
Placements |
(a) Placement diary
|
(a) Of no specified length; not assessed
|
|
(b) Essay
|
(b) 5,000
|
|
Dissertation
|
|
12,000
|
Module 1: Therapeutic Care for Refugees
Module coordinator: Renos Papadopoulos
Volume: Twenty seminars
Venue: The Tavistock Clinic
Day and time: Thursdays between 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm
Teaching staff: Mainly Renos Papadopoulos. In addition, other members of staff of the Tavistock
Clinic, of the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies as well as outside specialist
speakers.
Purpose of the Course: This course will provide students with a thorough
understanding of the fundamental underpinnings of the theory and practice of
Refugee Care. It will help them understand the basic constituent elements of
being a refugee (here referred to with the neutral term 'refugeedom') and it
will assist them to locate these elements in their wider societal and cultural
contexts; thus, it will offer students the tools to understand the dynamics of
societal response to refugeedom and their impact on the positioning of refugee
workers and services as well as of the refugees themselves. Moreover, it will
provide students with specific theoretical and therapeutic approaches to working
with refugees in general, as well as in the light of typical situations and
presenting problems. Finally, it will examine refugeedom in the context of some
of its most relevant and defining perspectives.
Assessment: Essay (100%) responding to a title from a list
available from the start of the course (maximum 5000 words)
Indicative reading
Ager, A (1999) Refugees: Perspectives on the
Experience of Forced Migration. London: Continuum.
Marsella, A. J. et al. (eds) (1992).
Amidst peril and pain. The mental health and social wellbeing of the world's
refugees. Washington D. C., American Psychological Association.
Papadopoulos, R.K. (ed.) (2002). Therapeutic
Care for Refugees. No Place Like Home. London: Karnac, Tavistock Clinic
Series.
Patel, N. (ed.) (2000). Clinical Psychology, 'Race'
and Culture. A Training Manual. Oxford: Blackwells.
Tedeschi, R.G., Park, C.L., and Calhoun, L.G. (1998).
Posttraumatic Growth: Positive changes in the aftermath of crisis.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Veer, G. Van Der (1998). Counselling and Therapy
with Refugees: Psychological Problems of Victims of War, Torture and Repression.
Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd (2nd Ed).
Module coordinator: Renos Papadopoulos
Volume: Twenty seminars
Venue: The University of Essex
Day: Tuesdays
Teaching staff:
Mainly members of staff of the University of Essex from various departments.
Purpose
This module will provide students with a thorough
understanding of the relevant contexts of Refugee Care (as a theoretical and
applied field). Refugee Care has not been a subject at post-graduate academic
level and this course aims to contribute modestly to this development by
creating a coherent framework within which Refugee Care can be located
meaningfully. This module complements the 'Therapeutic Care for Refugees' course
in so far as it will assist students develop a thorough understanding of the
(inter-)relationship between Therapeutic Care with other academic disciplines.
Assessment
Essay (100%) responding to a title from a list
available from the start of the course (maximum 5000 words).
Indicative Reading
Caruth, C. (1996).Unclaimed experience. Trauma,
narrative and history. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.
Clarke, S. (2003) Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and
Racism, London: Palgrave.
Cole, E. et al. (1992). Refugee women and their
mental health. Shattered societies, sheltered lives. London, Haworth Press.
De Jong, J. and Clarke, L. eds. (1996) Mental
health of refugees. Geneva, World Health Organisation/UNCHR.
Falicov, C. J., ed. 1983. Cultural Perspectives in Family Therapy.
Rockville, MD: Aspen Systems Corporation.
Grinberg, L. and Grinberg, R. (1989).
Psychoanalytic perspective on migration and exile. London, Yale University
Press.
UNHCR (2000). The state of the world's refugees.
Fifty years of humanitarian action. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Module coordinator: Michael Scott
Volume: In Term One: 6 two-hour theory seminars;
followed by twenty one-hour supervision seminars, to discuss the three-month
observation (one hour per week - plus write up time) in Terms One, Two and
Three.
Venue: The University of Essex
Day: Tuesdays
Teaching staff:
Michael Scott.
Aims: This module teaches a psychodynamic approach
to what happens in groups and organisations. The psychoanalytic contribution to
understanding collective behaviour stems largely from the work of Bion and
subsequently the Tavistock Institute. The emphasis on the unconscious processes
which can be observed in groups and organisations, those processes which are
normally overlooked by the study of other aspects of social science.
During the course students will conduct a three-month
observation of a bounded setting within an organisation (a hospital ward, a
school classroom, etc.) of the students own choosing.
Objectives: Students will complete the module
with a theoretical knowledge of group behaviour; and a developed practice of
observation. The practice is in adopting a position in which the observer will
make observations of both his/her objective view of what happens around,
and simultaneously a view of his/her own inner experience and as it changes in
relation to the external events.
This two-pronged form of observation – external and
internal – represents the essence of the psychoanalytic stance, and in this
module the student has a chance to make a critical judgement of how applicable
that stance is to social science.
During the 15 weeks (weeks 11–25) students will set up
an observation and conduct a weekly, one-hour observation for approximately 3
months. They will bring process records of their initial contacts and their
regular observations to a small weekly supervision seminar.
Indicative Reading
Anzieu, D. (1984). The Group and the Unconscious.
London: Routledge.
Bion, W. (1961). Experiences in Groups and Other
Papers. London: Routledge
Freud, S (1921). Group Psychology and the Analysis
of the Ego. SE 12
Hinshelwood, R. (1996) 'Psychiatry and psychotherapy',
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. Vol. 10 Supplement.
Hinshelwood, R.D. and Skogstad, W. (eds) (2000).
Observing organisations. London: Routledge.
Klein, M. (1946). Envy and Gratitude and Other
Works. London: Virago.
Module coordinator: Renos Papadopoulos
Volume: Twenty seminars
Venue: The University of Essex
Day: Tuesdays
Teaching staff: Mainly University of Essex staff
Aims: Human Rights involve
professionals in engaging with the plight of individuals or group need. The
target groups are suffering as a result of violations of their human rights and,
inevitably, the professionals are affected by their clients’ psychological
state. This module attempts to make students aware of the psychological
complexities involved in (a) the client group, (b) the interaction between
professionals and clients in these situations and (c) the way the wider contexts
impact on the psychological dimensions. In short, it will explore the
psychosocial parameters of human rights violations.
Objectives:
By the end of the module you should be able to:
-
Become familiar with the overall
issues, debates and literature on the psychosocial perspective
of Human Rights
-
Develop a systematic understanding
of the ‘victim, perpetrator, saviour’ triangle
-
Acquire a working knowledge of the
epistemological issues concerning the interaction between
intrapsychic, interpersonal and socio-political realms
Human Rights involve professionals in
engaging with the plight of individuals or group need. The target groups
are suffering as a result of violations of their
human rights and, inevitably, the professionals are affected by their clients’
psychological state. This module attempts to make students aware of the
psychological complexities involved in (a) the client group, (b) the interaction
between professionals and clients in these situations and (c) the way the wider
contexts impact on the psychological dimensions. In short, it will explore the
psychosocial parameters of human rights violations.
Indicative reading:
Iacopino V, Ozkalipici O, Schlar C,
et al. Manual on the effective investigation and
documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment, Available at:
http://www.phrusa.org.
Moreno, A., Piwowarczyk, L. and
Grodin, M.A. (2001). Human Rights Violations and Refugee
Health, The Journal of the American Medical
Association. 285:1215.
Papadopoulos, R.K.
(2005) Political Violence, Trauma and Mental Health
Interventions, In 'Art
Therapy and Political Violence. With art. Without
illusion'
edited by Debra Kalmanowitz and Bobby Lloyd.
London: Brunner-Routledge.
Papadopoulos, R.K. (2007)
Refugees,
Trauma and Adversity-Activated Development, European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling,
9 (3),
September, 301-312.
Rees, S. (2004).
Human rights and
the significance of psychosocial and cultural issues in
domestic violence policy and intervention for refugee
women, Australian
Journal of Human Rights, vol. 19. Available at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AJHR/2004/19.html
Silove, D. (1999). The psychosocial
effects of torture, mass human rights violations, and
refugee trauma : Toward an integrated conceptual
framework, The Journal of nervous and
mental diseases.
vol. 187, no4, pp. 200-207.
Module 5:Placement
Module coordinator: Renos K Papadopoulos
Volume: Minimum of 10 supervision sessions by
Field Placement Supervisors.
15 Placement Group meetings at the Tavistock Clinic (run by Sonia Appleby)
Venue: The Tavistock Clinic and Field Placement
Agencies
Day: Thursdays at the Tavistock Clinic and by
arrangement with the Agencies.
Purpose of the Module
This module will provide students with an opportunity
to relate and integrate theory and practice in the context of everyday realities
and practicalities It will enable them to examine the various perspectives,
themes, theories and processes presented in the other course modules as they
appear in applied form in an actual work setting (at a Field Placement Agency).
It will offer them an opportunity to be supervised by experienced practitioners
(Field Placement Supervisors – FPS). Finally, students will have the opportunity
of being offered the psychological space to digest and reflect on their
placement experiences in the context of a containing group run by an experienced
member of staff.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
This module will consist of the following components:
- A Placement of no less than 15 weeks on a weekly basis (minimum of half
day per week) in a Field Placement Agency where they work with refugees – to
begin in the second term (January).
- A minimum of 10 supervision sessions by an Field Placement Supervisor
conducted at the Field Placement Agency.
- Attending 15 Placement Group meetings with a member of staff – at the
Tavistock Clinic
This module supplements the first two predominantly
theoretical courses ('Therapeutic Care for Refugees' and 'Contexts of the
Refugee Experience') as well as the 'Observation' module by focusing on
practical and experiential modes of learning. Moreover, this module enables
students to concentrate on their chosen specific area of work with refugees.
All the Field Placement Supervisors (FPS) who will
have this module's students in placement will be in close contact with the
course coordinator (Renos K Papadopoulos) and the Placement Coordinator (Violeta
Hulme) to monitor the progress of the students. More specifically, they will
attend 5 Supervisors Group meetings with the module coordinator where they will
have an opportunity to offer their feedback, share experiences and be supported
by each other and by the module coordinator.
Assessment
1. Placement Diary – this is not assessed but
it is a requirement; it should contain an account of daily activities and
experiences during the placement period.
2. Essay (100%) responding to a title from a
list available from the start of the course. (maximum 5000 words).
Essentially, students are expected to spend a period
of time in a specialist setting where work with refugees is undertaken. They
will be required to have direct contact with refugees in an agreed role and
this activity will be supervised by a local practitioner who will act as the
Field Placement Supervisor.
Dissertation
Venue: The University
Day: Tuesday
Supervisors:Staff from the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies and other University
departments.
The dissertation is an important component of this
course in so far as its weight is one third of the overall course and it should
provide a focus for the students' intended specialization within the field of
refugee care. Students will receive individual supervision for this piece of
research which will also offer them an opportunity to participate in wider
research projects in the field. The dissertation may involve empirical work with
human subjects or it may be a theoretical treatise of a relevant topic.
Accordingly, the methodology may include quantitative or qualitative modes of
analyses of data or it may be based on developing and substantiating theoretical
arguments.
To Apply for MA in Refugee Care (one year full-time)
This course can be applied for
online.
Please note that in addition, applicants should include a note explaining the
reasons for applying for this degree course, referring to their previous
work/experience in this field and/or their serious intention to work in this
field in the future. This additional information should be included in Section
8 of the online application form 'Information required by the department or
Centre to which you are applying'.
Alternatively, please email
cpsgrad@essex.ac.uk
for an application form by post, or download the
application form in PDF format.
Please also supply the above additional information if applying by post.
NB:Although great care is taken in compiling this
information, it is for the general guidance of prospective students and the
University reserves the right to make changes to modules and programmes of
study.