Intersections Presents at United Nations NGO Committee on Mental Health

Scott Thompson and Larry Winters facilitate a Veteran-Civilian Dialogue in December at Intersections.

“Often overlooked in our society are our own returning U.S. soldiers and the debilitating consequences of post traumatic stress. More subtly overlooked is the impact that war has on civilians..."

By Scott Thompson
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

On Thursday, January 13, 2011 Intersections International was invited to present on a panel of the United Nations NGO Committee on Mental Health.The invitation came from the working group on "Trauma and Disaster." 

The Committee was established in 1996 under the auspices of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO) in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The primary mission of the committee is to bring understanding and appreciation of mental health issues to the global agenda at the United Nations through the promotion of psychosocial well-being, the improvement of mental health care services, and advocacy and education in the prevention of mental illness.

The Committee holds monthly programs on topics relevant to the United Nations and in conjunction with UN events and meetings. The recent meeting was a program presenting “Inner Healing and the Trauma of War."  Participants attending the program included representatives from the UN, government missions, NGOs and civil society. 

Presenters were invited to discuss clinical examples and best practices for helping victims of war to develop a healthier sense of self and ways to integrate into society and move on with their lives.

Intersections Director of Social Dialogue, Scott Thompson, presented “The Mental Health of Social Identities: Social Healing between Veterans and Civilians”. Other presentations included "The Resilience of Child and Adolescent Survivors of War Trauma” and “Group Therapy with War-Affected Adolescents in Ugandan IDP Camps."

“Often overlooked in our society are our own returning U.S. soldiers and the debilitating consequences of post traumatic stress. More subtly overlooked is the impact that war has on civilians," Thompson said. "Never in our history has there been such a gap between these two groups in our country. The Veteran-Civilian Dialogue brings both together for conversation about the impact of war on each, both having something vital for the other’s healing.”

The next Veteran – Civilian Dialogue will be taking place on Friday, February 4th, 2001 in New York City.