Renos K Papadopoulos, PhD., FBPsS
Trauma, Asylum and Refugees
Challenges in working with complex situations of multi-victimisation.
Bangor University Chaplaincy Team Lecture
Online Public Lecture (Teams)
3pm - Thursday, 20th February 2025
Nowadays, we witness a remarkable increase in the frequency and intensity of various types of ‘severe forms of collective adversity’ in our world, which inevitably impact us in multiple ways. The media of mass communication and social media flood us with competing explanations and narratives, ranging from plausible to outlandish, mostly, presenting oversimplified and polarised accounts. By far the most dominant way of understanding the human response (both individual and collective) to these adversities has been that of ‘trauma’. Yet, the ‘trauma discourse’ has proven to be deficient in grasping the subtler nuances of these experiences.
This presentation aims to provide a framework that addresses these complexities, identifying new and significant facets of these phenomena, including the underlying struggle to comprehend human suffering; the nature and effects of multi-victimisation; the intricacies of ‘moral injury’; and a re-evaluation of staff burnout and self-care. Central to this framework is the ‘Adversity Grid’, which meaningfully conceptualises the range of consequences from such adversities, emphasising the avoidance of pathologising human suffering, identifying retained and new strengths, and enabling the appropriate managing of complexity.
Renos K Papadopoulos, PhD., FBPsS, is Professor and Director of the Centre for Trauma, Asylum and Refugees and of the MA/PhD Programmes in Refugee Care at the University of Essex, as well as Honorary Psychologist at the Tavistock Clinic. He is a Clinical Psychologist, Jungian Psychoanalyst, and Systemic Family.
Psychotherapist working as a clinical practitioner, trainer and supervisor. As a consultant to the United Nations and many other organisations, he has been working with refugees, tortured persons, trafficked people and other survivors of political violence and disasters in many countries. His writings have appeared in 18 languages. He was given awards by several international bodies for his unique approach to humanitarian work. His last two books are on Moral Injury, and Involuntary Dislocation; the latter has been hailed as inaugurating a new paradigm in the field.
The event is free, but registration is required. A link to the lecture will be sent following registration.
LECTURE TO BE DELIVERED THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF ENGLISH.
