onflict management and peacebuilding efforts have long emphasized resilience in the face of trauma. However, resilience building requires more than just “bouncing back” from societal pain, cultural destruction, and injustice. Such an approach fails to acknowledge the multigenerational impact of these experiences on individuals and communities. A more comprehensive approach is the healing–centered peacebuilding (HCP) approach: recognizing trauma's enduring effects on individuals.
HCP goes beyond being trauma–informed; it places healing at the core of peacebuilding efforts in conflict–ridden communities. It frames mental health as a collective issue and connects individual struggles to broader social factors that may have undermined stability and wellbeing. HCP establishes a strong foundation for fostering thriving communities where those affected by injustice and violence can heal and flourish together. The approach challenges the traditional narrative of mental health issues as biological illnesses. It pushes for a more holistic understanding of mental health by acknowledging social determinants such as inequity, injustice, and chronic violence. It offers a path forward for sustainable peace and resilience.
The limitations of traditional approaches
Traditional mental health interventions in conflict environments often fail to address the complex needs of people and their communities. These interventions frequently adopt a medical model, focusing on identifying symptoms and prescribing medication or psychotherapy. However, this approach only replicates western medical models that may not resonate with non–western cultures, traditions, and epistemologies.
These interventions tend to overlook the social and environmental factors contributing to trauma. By emphasizing "resilience" alone, they fail to address the root causes of trauma and neglect the crucial role of healing in fostering wellbeing and preventing future violence.
To effectively support people and communities affected by conflict, it is essential to move beyond these limitations and embrace a more holistic approach that prioritizes healing and addresses the underlying social determinants of mental health conditions. Only by addressing the interplay between individual experiences and broader societal factors can we hope to break the cycle of trauma and build a foundation for sustainable peace.
Healing–centered peacebuilding practice
HCP offers a holistic alternative, prioritizing healing as a pathway to building peace. This approach emphasizes the importance of addressing underlying wounds and anxieties stemming from violence and conflict. HCP seeks to decolonize mental health by building systems focused on justice, healing, and human potential. This approach prioritizes community–based healing practices that are culturally grounded, drawing on Indigenous knowledge and resources to create safe spaces for healing and growth in conflict–ridden communities.
Chronic violence inflicts deep wounds not just on individuals but on the social fabric of their community. Collective traumas from chronic violence hinder development, erode trust, and perpetuate cycles of violence within these communities. Without addressing these underlying wounds, communities remain susceptible to future conflict.
Professionalized mental health care, often culturally irrelevant and inaccessible in conflict zones, cannot adequately address these widespread issues. HCP's approach to addressing collective trauma lays the foundation for building healthy communities by broadening the idea of mental health to include the social struggles that impact an individual's sense of stability and wellbeing.
One such program exemplifying HCP principles is a community–based youth mental health program implemented on the Kenyan coast. The program empowers emerging youth in Kenya to become catalysts for change by joining healing circles led by their peers. It introduces facilitators from within the community, ensuring a deep understanding of local customs and traditions. Healing circles incorporate elements of storytelling, proverbial knowledge, and traditional rituals. This cultural sensitivity allows young people to connect with the healing process in a way that resonates with their lived experiences.
The program fosters the creation of safe spaces and social connections, which are crucial for healing from chronic violence and adversity. By utilizing a strengths–based approach that focuses on the inherent resilience and potential of emerging adults, the program has demonstrated positive impacts on participants' self–awareness and future thinking. Ultimately, this initiative offers a triple dividend: improving health and wellbeing in the present, enhancing it throughout the life course, and contributing to the health and wellbeing of future generations.
By prioritizing healing over mere resilience, HCP empowers people to actively build peace. This shift towards healing–centered approaches offers the potential for a brighter future, not just for individuals but for entire societies. By investing in the psychological wellbeing of people impacted by violence, we invest in the future of peace itself.
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A holistic, healing–centered approach to individual and collective trauma
Image by Kimson Doan from Unsplash.
June 10, 2024
Traditional peacebuilding emphasizes resilience and overlooks trauma's multigenerational impact; while healing–centered peacebuilding (HCP), a holistic approach, acknowledges social determinates and incorporates community–based practices to foster collective wellbeing, writes Dr. Angi Yoder–Maina.
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onflict management and peacebuilding efforts have long emphasized resilience in the face of trauma. However, resilience building requires more than just “bouncing back” from societal pain, cultural destruction, and injustice. Such an approach fails to acknowledge the multigenerational impact of these experiences on individuals and communities. A more comprehensive approach is the healing–centered peacebuilding (HCP) approach: recognizing trauma's enduring effects on individuals.
HCP goes beyond being trauma–informed; it places healing at the core of peacebuilding efforts in conflict–ridden communities. It frames mental health as a collective issue and connects individual struggles to broader social factors that may have undermined stability and wellbeing. HCP establishes a strong foundation for fostering thriving communities where those affected by injustice and violence can heal and flourish together. The approach challenges the traditional narrative of mental health issues as biological illnesses. It pushes for a more holistic understanding of mental health by acknowledging social determinants such as inequity, injustice, and chronic violence. It offers a path forward for sustainable peace and resilience.
The limitations of traditional approaches
Traditional mental health interventions in conflict environments often fail to address the complex needs of people and their communities. These interventions frequently adopt a medical model, focusing on identifying symptoms and prescribing medication or psychotherapy. However, this approach only replicates western medical models that may not resonate with non–western cultures, traditions, and epistemologies.
These interventions tend to overlook the social and environmental factors contributing to trauma. By emphasizing "resilience" alone, they fail to address the root causes of trauma and neglect the crucial role of healing in fostering wellbeing and preventing future violence.
To effectively support people and communities affected by conflict, it is essential to move beyond these limitations and embrace a more holistic approach that prioritizes healing and addresses the underlying social determinants of mental health conditions. Only by addressing the interplay between individual experiences and broader societal factors can we hope to break the cycle of trauma and build a foundation for sustainable peace.
Healing–centered peacebuilding practice
HCP offers a holistic alternative, prioritizing healing as a pathway to building peace. This approach emphasizes the importance of addressing underlying wounds and anxieties stemming from violence and conflict. HCP seeks to decolonize mental health by building systems focused on justice, healing, and human potential. This approach prioritizes community–based healing practices that are culturally grounded, drawing on Indigenous knowledge and resources to create safe spaces for healing and growth in conflict–ridden communities.
Chronic violence inflicts deep wounds not just on individuals but on the social fabric of their community. Collective traumas from chronic violence hinder development, erode trust, and perpetuate cycles of violence within these communities. Without addressing these underlying wounds, communities remain susceptible to future conflict.
Professionalized mental health care, often culturally irrelevant and inaccessible in conflict zones, cannot adequately address these widespread issues. HCP's approach to addressing collective trauma lays the foundation for building healthy communities by broadening the idea of mental health to include the social struggles that impact an individual's sense of stability and wellbeing.
One such program exemplifying HCP principles is a community–based youth mental health program implemented on the Kenyan coast. The program empowers emerging youth in Kenya to become catalysts for change by joining healing circles led by their peers. It introduces facilitators from within the community, ensuring a deep understanding of local customs and traditions. Healing circles incorporate elements of storytelling, proverbial knowledge, and traditional rituals. This cultural sensitivity allows young people to connect with the healing process in a way that resonates with their lived experiences.
The program fosters the creation of safe spaces and social connections, which are crucial for healing from chronic violence and adversity. By utilizing a strengths–based approach that focuses on the inherent resilience and potential of emerging adults, the program has demonstrated positive impacts on participants' self–awareness and future thinking. Ultimately, this initiative offers a triple dividend: improving health and wellbeing in the present, enhancing it throughout the life course, and contributing to the health and wellbeing of future generations.
By prioritizing healing over mere resilience, HCP empowers people to actively build peace. This shift towards healing–centered approaches offers the potential for a brighter future, not just for individuals but for entire societies. By investing in the psychological wellbeing of people impacted by violence, we invest in the future of peace itself.
