Madan, Athena

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Dr. Athena Madan is interested in social and political forces underpinning health and long-term health outcomes, specifically in instances of protracted conflict and fragile states, and as applied to the implementation of interventions for improved equity and social justice. Her publications, photo-essays, and collaborations have contributed to the following areas: education in emergencies; explanatory models of illness; intergenerational trauma; participatory and arts-based research methods; psychosocial intervention in humanitarian and emergency settings; refugee mental health; rehabilitation of child soldiers; social innovation and theories of change; socio-political contexts of addictions; and therapeutic governance and human rights.

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Thoughts from Afghanistan: Rebuilding community in complexity
    (Intervention: Journal of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict Affected Areas, 2018) Madan, Athena
    This personal reflection shares four vignettes from the author’s field journal while on assignment in Afghanistan. Note 1 shares the thoughts (with permission) of a few of her female Afghan colleagues; Notes 2 and 3 share experiences from field work day-to-day; and Note 4 closes with a reflection about some of the larger socio-political complexities that may tacitly underpin humanitarian intervention in Afghanistan. This reflection piece offers no answers, only musings.
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    A multiple case study of mental health interventions in middle income countries: Considering the science of delivery
    (PLoS ONE, 2016) Kidd, Sean A; Madan, Athena; Rallabandi, Susmitha; Cole, Donald C; Muskat, Elisha; Raja, Shoba; Wiljer, David; Aylward, David; McKenzie, Kwame
    In the debate in global mental health about the most effective models for developing and scaling interventions, there have been calls for the development of a more robust literature regarding the "non-specific", science of delivery aspects of interventions that are locally, contextually, and culturally relevant. This study describes a rigorous, exploratory, qualitative examination of the key, non-specific intervention strategies of a diverse group of five internationally- recognized organizations addressing mental illness in middle income countries (MICs). A triangulated approach to inquiry was used with semi-structured interviews conducted with service recipients, service providers and leaders, and key community partners (N = 159). The interview focus was upon processes of implementation and operation. A grounded theory-informed analysis revealed cross cutting themes of: a holistic conceptualization of mental health problems, an intensive application of principles of leverage and creating the social, cultural, and policy “space” within which interventions could be applied and resourced. These findings aligned with key aspects of systems dynamic theory suggesting that it might be a helpful framework in future studies of mental health service implementation in MICs.
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    Intersections of war trauma, culture, and socioanalysis in mental health intervention for post-traumatic stress
    (International Journal of Child Youth and Family Studies, 2011) Madan, Athena
    “Refugee war trauma” is a poor adjunct to post-traumatic stress, lacking context for a civilian survivor of war. The “therapeutic mission”, or consolidating a therapeutic agenda with political reconstitution, has its tensions: Such founders embody politics of “emotionology” (Humphrey, 2005, p. 205) bound largely to pharmaceuticals, from a land of “freedom” (where emphasis is on market) and “democracy” (where emphasis is on autonomy of choice, not accountability). Additionally, how people “cope” or “solve problems” is not universal: Therapy speaks of self-empowerment, self-actualisation, and self-control; reconciliation speaks of collective citizenship, national participation, and group reform. Instituting participation in rituals that ‘help” according to predefined norms of an American prescription to suffering speaks more to the globalisation of the American psyche (Watters, 2010; Venne, 1997) than of humanitarian relief. This paper looks at the absence of cultural and socio-political specificities within the dominant discourse on “war trauma”, that are however of ultimate relevance for people affected by war. Using a case example from my own practice with a Rwandan woman living now in Canada, I question the “helpfulness” of post-traumatic stress treatment with this instance of refugee war trauma, and the impact of power systems in mental health care. How can the therapeutic encounter, given its genesis in Eurocentric, patriarchal, enlightenment thought, pause to better consider its potential for injury, especially within contexts of post-colonial genocide? How to avoid a new “mission to civilise”? What tensions to note as the advent of “trauma counselling” seeks more global application and transnational legitimacy?