Leveraging the power of groups for forced migrant populations impacted by war and torture: Strengthening family and social resources among Syrian refugees in Jordan
AI Summary
Two-stage recovery, intrapersonal gains in motivation, skills, readiness for relationships, then expanded social networks through friendships and strengthened family ties.
Group psychotherapy and physiotherapy produced community and family-level social resource benefits rarely assessed in outcome evaluations.
Findings call for measuring social resource outcomes and designing group interventions to intentionally cultivate interpersonal and family support for refugee populations.
Psychol Trauma. 2026 Jun 8. doi: 10.1037/tra0002209. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Although there is emerging evidence for the effectiveness of group interventions for the mental health of war and torture-affected populations, there has been limited investigation into the social and interpersonal benefits that may be particular to group therapies.
METHOD: Informed by interpersonal group theory and the concept of social resources, we conducted 31 interviews with Syrian men and women exposed to torture and exiled as refugees in Jordan to examine perceived changes in social resources and underlying mechanisms following participation in a 10-week group psychotherapy and group physiotherapy intervention.
RESULTS: The analysis revealed a two-stage process of change. First, participants identified changes in intrapersonal processes related to motivation, skills, and readiness for social relationships. Next, participants drew upon these improved capacities to expand their available social networks and connections through new friendships with group members and strengthened family relationships. Several different mechanisms were identified that contributed to these distinct gains in social resources.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight community and family-level benefits rarely assessed in group-based interventions and enable understanding of how groups may strengthen social resources for refugee communities displaced from family, home, community, and country. The findings have implications for the conceptualization and measurement of social resources outcomes in future research and for cultivating social resources in group-based intervention design. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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