Lived Experience Of Community Research Articles

21.4 Appreciating Differences: Navigating Intersectionality in Working With Gender-Expansive Youth and Their Families

Like all families, the families of gender-diverse youth present with beliefs, values, and patterns of interacting with others stemming from their lived experience of community, culture, and ethnicity. Appreciation of a family’s background and values can play an important role in helping family members to find common ground and enable them to provide the affirmation and support that is so important for improving mental health outcomes for gender-diverse youth. This can represent a significant challenge for child and adolescent psychiatrists, who often receive little training in incorporating cultural, ethnic, and religious differences in family therapy techniques and may struggle to address culturally based beliefs about gender identity and sexuality that differ from their own.

Partition and its echoes in Karachi: The political agencies of Fahmida Riaz and Perween Rahman

This article, shaped as a conversation between a scholar and an artist, critically examines the mapping of the lived experience of Karachi after Partition through a discussion of the poetic journey of the feminist activist Fahmida Riaz and urban planner and architect Perween Rahman.1These two activists were directly affected by the Partition, albeit in different ways, and it is through their creative practice that we try to understand the hauntings of the past in the present. This helps us to move beyond linear ways of interpreting the Indian Partition’s many effects on lived experiences of communities in Karachi. While Riaz writes of the death of metaphor and the inability of verse to capture the harsh realities of everyday life in a dystopian city, Rahman gives agency to the disenfranchised and dispossessed within the urban settlements of Karachi’s poor through a participatory model of community-based mapping. What emerges from the dialogue is a recreation of several voices across time and space that carry the echoes of Partition and the conditions that surround us now. It thereby offers a way to re-envision and reclaim an embodied form of mapping through memory and walking across disciplines to engender cultural change.

A framework tool for conceptualizing integrated water resources for sustainable water management

AbstractAs the pressures on water resources are ever increasing, the organization of complex disparate data and scientific information to inform the actions to protect and enhance the resilience of freshwater resources is key for sustainable development and implementation of integrated water resource management (IWRM). Methodologies supporting IWRM implementation have largely focused on water management and governance, with less attention to evaluation methods of ecologic, economic, and social conditions. To assist in assessing water resource sustainability, the Integrated Hydro‐Environment Assessment Tool (IHEAT) has been developed to create a framework for different disciplines and interests to engage in structured dialogue. The IHEAT builds on the considerable body of knowledge developed around IWRM and seeks to place this information into a single framework that facilitates the cogeneration of knowledge between managers, stakeholders, and the communities affected by management decisions with the understanding that there is a need to merge expert analysis with traditional knowledge and the lived experience of communities. IHEAT merges the driver‐pressure‐state‐impact‐response (DPSIR) framework, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment's ecosystem services and human well‐being (HWB) framework, sustainability criteria for water resource systems, and water resources indexes and sets of indicators to better understand spatiotemporal interactions between hydrologic, socioeconomic, and ecologic systems and evaluate impacts of disturbances on ecological goods and services and HWB. IHEAT consists of a Conceptual Template (IHEAT‐CT) which provides a systematic framework for assessing basin conditions and guiding indicator selection as well as an Assessment Interface (IHEAT‐AI) for organizing, processing, and assessing analytical results. The IHEAT‐CT, presented herein, is a rapid screening tool that connects water use directly, or through ecosystem goods and services (EGS), to constituents of HWB. Disturbance Templates for eight pressure types, such as land‐use change, climate change, and population growth, are provided to guide practitioners regarding potential changes to landscape elements in the hydrological cycle, impacts on EGS, and societal implications on HWB. The basin screening results in a summary report card illuminating key freshwater ecosystems, the EGS they provide, and potential responses to drivers and pressures acting on the hydrologic system. This screening provides a common understanding by technical and nontechnical parties and provides the foundation for more complex conceptual models should they be required. An indicator list guides the selection of hydrologic, ecologic, economic, and social analytical methods to support IWRM technical input.

Broaching Intersectionality and Social Justice: Incorporating Fruitvale Station into Multicultural Counselor Education

ABSTRACT In this conceptual article, the authors explore the pedagogical potential of the film Fruitvale Station as a tool in multicultural counselor education. Discussed are several scenes from the film which illuminate intersectional and social justice issues that impact the lived experiences of communities of color. Considerations for designing and introducing learning activities for Fruitvale Station and facilitating difficult dialogs are incorporated. Lastly, the authors provide two sample experiential learning activities that could be utilized to promote CITs’ ability to engage in personal reflection and introspection about their privileged or marginalized status, as well enhance their critical conceptualization skills.

Colonialism, Collective Memory, and Memory Politics: Critical Reflections on Narratives and Public Archives of the Algerian War

Purpose: The article examines the trial of French General Paul Aussaresses (b. 1918, d. 2013) in the 2000s for war crimes committed during the Algerian War (1954 to 1962). Approach/Methodology/Design: A historiographical analysis covering topics such as colonialism, public memory, collective memory, counter-narratives, education, forgetting, and authenticity. Findings: Public history without individual memories or lived experiences of communities that have survived historical events can be viewed as inauthentic. It might even be called propaganda to present only state state-sanctioned accounts of historical events. Many governments will consequently enact laws to distinguish between what constitutes official national narratives—and what remains peripheral, or perhaps extremist individual, historical accounts. Practical Implications: This paper contributes to the scholarly literature examining oral testimonials in political and war crime tribunals, and the ethics of conducting public history research using media archives. Originality/value: Towards a greater understanding of collective memory processes, the case of the Algerian War reveals the constant negotiations, formal networks, and informal channels used to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate sources of historical memory—and the consequences on culture, law, and society.

57.3 TRANSCENDING CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS BARRIERS: WORKING WITH GENDER-DIVERSE YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES IN THE PANDEMIC AND BEYOND

Objectives: Like all families, the families of gender-diverse youth present with beliefs, values, and patterns of interacting stemming from their lived experience of community, culture, and ethnicity. Appreciation of a family’s values can help family members find common ground and enable them to provide crucial affirmation for gender-diverse youth. However, child and adolescent psychiatrists often receive little training in incorporating cultural differences in family therapy and may struggle to address culturally based beliefs about gender identity and sexuality that differ from their own. Changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have presented additional, unforeseen treatment challenges but have also provided unexpected opportunities, including some relevant for gender-diverse youth, especially transitional-aged youth impacted by devastating losses in employment and education. Attendees will leave with an increased awareness of cultural factors that can affect family acceptance and new ideas for utilizing telehealth and other unusual approaches. Methods: The presenter will provide a review of available evidence about applicable cultural factors and telehealth modalities, with a focus on gender-diverse transitional-aged youth. The presenter will use clinical case vignettes and video clips to highlight challenges and opportunities under pandemic conditions and beyond. Results: Understanding a family’s underlying cultural values can play an important role in establishing a solid therapeutic alliance and allow for more meaningful communication, which is especially important in family therapy with gender-diverse, transitional-aged youth, and their families, who may be struggling with additional pandemic-related stressors. Awareness of the unique benefits of telehealth may improve clinicians’ effectiveness. Together, these can help promote positive outcomes for gender-diverse youth. Conclusions: It is important to consider and address culturally influenced beliefs and values when working with gender-diverse youth and their families, and it is important to incorporate available resources, such as telehealth modalities. This can lead to improvements in therapeutic relationships and communication, which can have a significant impact on family acceptance and lead to more positive mental health outcomes for youth. FT, CUL, SEX

Coping with environmental hazards and shocks in Kiribati: Experiences of climate change by atoll communities in the Equatorial Pacific

Small island developing states such as Kiribati in the Equatorial Pacific are among the most climate vulnerable places on Earth. While there is a considerable body of literature on the scale of the problem, there is very little research on the lived experiences of communities, their concerns and priorities, and how they are coping with environmental and climate hazards. As a result, a top-down approach is often adopted in adaptation projects that may not meet the real needs of communities, endangering the long-term sustainability and viability of interventions. Through a series of participatory focus groups carried out in Kiribati in 2019, this study explores what communities prioritise and wish to see implemented to cope and build resilience to present and foreseeable future challenges. The outcomes of this research show environmental risks and hazards faced by communities are strongly associated with climate projections. Communities are currently trying to adapt to challenges, both old and new, with technologies and materials available. While there is a degree of spontaneous adaptation occurring, these problems are insurmountable without solving present challenges in Kiribati, such as access to better technology and markets without becoming over-reliant. Including communities in co-designed interventions can also ensure sustainability in climate adaptation projects. The findings of this research can inform policy and climate change adaptation measures in other similar atoll islands in the Pacific.

52.3 TRANSCENDING CULTURAL BARRIERS IN WORKING WITH GENDER-EXPANSIVE YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES

Similar to all families, the families of gender-diverse youth present with beliefs, values, and patterns of interacting with others stemming from their lived experiences of community, culture, and ethnicity. Appreciation of a family’s background and values can play an important role in helping family members to find common ground and enable them to provide affirmation and support, which are very important in improving mental health outcomes for gender-diverse youth. This can represent a significant challenge for child and adolescent psychiatrists, who often receive little training in incorporating cultural and ethnic differences in family therapy techniques and may struggle to address culturally based beliefs about gender identity and sexuality that differ from their own. Attendees will leave with an increased awareness of cultural factors that can affect family acceptance and ideas for approaches to help mitigate difficulties.

Reflecting on (the challenge of) conducting participatory research as a research-degree student

Participatory research appeals to notions of community empowerment and of generating more valid data grounded in the lived experiences of communities. For research-degree students, however, implementing such an approach can complicate an already challenging endeavour. Participatory research may juxtapose the institutional mechanisms surrounding a research degree and provide practical barriers to research-degree students. Reflecting on my own experience attempting to conduct a piece of participatory research for my doctoral research, this article concludes that participation should be viewed as an expansive concept and that any meaningful attempt to progress along a continuum of participation should be recognized and encouraged.

Developing a dual diagnosis service in Cork, Ireland by way of participatory action research (PAR)

Purpose– Developing a dual diagnosis service in Cork, Ireland by way of participatory action research (PAR) background: internationally there is a growing consensus regarding the ideal of integrated treatment. In Ireland, recommendations identified the need for multi-disciplinary team integration and client participation being central to service development. Such recommendations collectively fit most appropriately with PAR, the methodological and theoretical framework best suited to achieve the objectives of the inquiry. PAR's inclusive philosophy creates processes of negotiation, self-reflexivity and exploration of power issues with the lived experience of communities. Key elements of this approach facilitate the development of emancipatory and participatory democracy whilst highlighting identified social issues through research, learning and action. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– Cyclical processes of planning, action, observation and reflection in cycle one have facilitated the introduction of PAR's methodological framework into the existing public health (Health Service Executive) system of primary care addiction and mental health services. Developing stakeholder relationships in decision making processes has been pivotal in cycle 1 as the process of collective engagement evolves. Stakeholders begin to experience their collective participation in the methods adopted and a collective sense of ownership and commitment to the iterative process begins to take shape. Stakeholders in cycle 1 have participated in multiple data generation methods including: informal interviews, planned discussion and focus groups, multidisciplinary team meetings, testimonials, observations and reflections.Findings– Cycle 1 of this PAR inquiry has engaged stakeholders (service users and their families, practitioners including; academic/practitioners, a consultant psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health nurses, an occupational therapist, psychotherapists, an acupuncturist, an addiction counsellor, an art therapist) in an integrated process of inquiry. PAR methods adopted in this cycle have facilitated particular dual diagnosis service developments and emerging initiatives (previously unidentified). Actions collaboratively planned for and illustrated in this paper include: the implementation of a psychotherapy group and implementing direct access to an acupuncture clinic.Originality/value– Stakeholders collaboratively experience PAR's methodological and theoretical approach which has facilitated service developments in cycle 1 of the inquiry. This sets the stage for the completion of actions already in motion and for further initiatives to continue to evolve as cycle 2 processes emerge.

Toward a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Community Belonging and Well-Being: Insights from a Queer-Mixed Perspective

Although previous research indicates a positive relationship between community belonging and well-being, little is known about how this relationship is experienced within diverse communities. In this study, interviews were conducted with 12 queer-mixed-identified individuals. Proposed is a conceptual framework for understanding how and why experiences of community belonging contribute to and detract from well-being. Specifically, the dimensions being close, being read, being seen, and being heard are explored through participants’ intersectional and often-contradictory narratives. This study may enhance scholarship regarding lived experiences of community; research and practice related to multiracial, queer, and trans* experiences; and community efforts to promote well-being.

The Other Brazilians: Community Ambivalences among Brazilians in Sydney

The migration of Brazilians to Australia is a relatively new phenomenon, and has been increasing since the 1990s. Although an imagined Brazilian community is part of everyday discourses of Brazilians, receiving society and media, this concept is ambivalent. I address the limitations of multiculturalism and its correlated notion of diasporic community to point to other alternatives for understanding communal feelings, nostalgia and homebuilding. This perspective unveils disjunctions between the multiculturalist view of community and the lived experience of communities. I demonstrate the existence of shunning behaviour among Brazilians, and argue that such trend is due to their desire to recover their whiteness, cosmopolitanism and Western ethos in Australia. I also show that Brazilians use identity in a strategic way to work out their integration, such as the uses of a cosmopolitan identity and a pan-Latin American identity. These distinctions show that Brazilians have different degrees of affective investment in the Brazilian culture, belonging and integration strategies. In this light, we ought to think in terms of networking in order to deconstruct simplifications of a migrant community through culturalist explanations.

The Mulberry Bush School and UK therapeutic community practice for children and young people

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to inform readers and researchers about the use of a “lived experience” of therapeutic community work as an effective intervention for severely emotionally troubled children. Design/methodology/approach – An explanation of the main developmental influences and how the Mulberry Bush School is continuing to incorporate new theories and approaches. Findings – How the Mulberry Bush as a specialist therapeutic residential provision can bring about excellent outcomes for severely emotionally troubled children. Research limitations/implications – The paper explores the work and legacy of the school's founder Barbara Dockar-Drysdale and of her collaboration with Donald Winnicott to create a lived experience of community as an agent of therapeutic change. The paper also provides descriptions and a case study of the current multi-disciplinary work of the school, including how neuroscientific research is influencing the evolution of the therapeutic task with traumatised children. Practical implications – The paper shows how a highly evolved model of integrated provision can support excellent outcomes for traumatised children and young people. Originality/value – To broaden and deepen knowledge about the use of therapeutic community principles in the treatment of severely emotionally trouble children and young people.

Taking Aunt Kathy to Dinner: Family Dinner as a Focal Practice

An ethnographic methodology is used to describe the intersection of leisure practices and the lived experience of community within the context of a communal farm, known as the Farm. This manuscript focuses specifically on a leisure practice known as Family Dinner where members of the extended Farm community gathered for a weekly potluck-style meal. When conviviality is understood as a proxy for leisure, Family Dinner is seen as a type of informal leisure experience whereby participants are acculturated and disciplined into certain cultural practices. Communal meals are examined as leisure practices that showcase the accumulation of cultural capital related to food. The study's findings have implications for future analyses of power dynamics within the context of informal leisure practices.