| As clinical psychology has developed professionally and as a science, it has contributed greatly to our understanding of human behavior. One area in which clinical psychology could put to use its theoretical constructs and clinical expertise, and in so doing make an important contribution to the international community, is ethno-political conflict. With its background and experience in providing clinical interventions for generations of individuals suffering from a wide variety of psychological and emotional symptoms and disorders, Clinical Psychology has a critical role to play in the development and realization of therapeutic strategies to assist victims of ethno-political conflict and in the development of pre-emptive interventions to prevent ethno-political disputes from escalating to the point of armed conflict. The contributions of clinical psychology during periods of ethnopolitical conflict are limited and conspicuous by their relative absence in the professional literature. Nonetheless, clinical psychology has a great deal to contribute in this specialized area. This dissertation will serve as a theoretical framework for developing a clinically-based strategy for understanding and intervening in ethno-political conflict. I will provide a brief review of a training program for allied professions in the countries experiencing conflict, and present a theoretical model of intervention for those non-clinical civilians caught in the cross-fire of ethno-political conflict. This dissertation will attempt to answer the question, what is the role of the clinical psychologist in ethno-political conflict?... |
