Clinical And Dynamic Perspectives on The Challenge of Social Traumatic Emergencies: Positionings, Advances and Trajectories of Research and Intervention

Several social traumatic emergencies are troubling individual and collective mental health and affective functioning. Wars, violence, and conflicts, with the consequent flight of millions of people forced to leave their homeland, represent the greatest challenges that contemporary societies face. These are extreme traumatic experiences whose effects extend beyond the individual dimension to also impact collective and social ones. This panel brings together contributions that address these issues with particular attention to the repercussions that such traumatic experiences and related research have on the human, professional, scientific, and academic communities. The panel, therefore, aims to offer a broad reflection on the phenomena of war and forced migration, outlining the trajectories and advances in research and intervention on these topics, as well as the perspectives of researchers and academics. Troisi et al., through the analysis of the lived experiences of a group of female professionals working on an Italian research-intervention project for refugee women victims of violence, share best gender-sensitive practices for clinicians and professionals facing the dual challenge of forced migration and gender-based violence. The focus on a gender-sensitive approach in research is also sustained in the contribution of Gallo et al. The authors present a systematic review of gender-sensitive research on women during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and reflect on the unique positioning and direction of current research in addressing the trauma of war and the feminine issue. Similarly, the contribution of Cavazzoni et al. deepens the meanings, emotions, and defense mechanisms of a group of researchers engaged in “thinking about Gaza” and “researching on and within Gaza”. In conclusion, the study of Regnoli et al., which examines the social impact of war, presents the results of an investigation aimed at evaluating the effects of the Fear of War on psychological distress and its relationship with the Intolerance of Uncertainty and Future Anxiety in a sample of Italian young adults. The authors reflect on the implications of their findings to implement targeted intervention projects capable of caring for future generations.