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A controlled trial of problem-solving counseling for war-affected adults in Aceh, Indonesia

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Abstract

Purpose

War and conflict have consequences on the mental health of individuals and entire communities and the communities in Aceh, Indonesia, having experienced more than 30 years of armed conflict, are no exception. This study presents results from an evaluation of a non-specific mental health group counseling program among adults affected by conflict. Interventions such as these need to be evaluated to further the limited empirical evidence base for efficacious community-based treatments for improving the mental health and psychosocial problems in humanitarian settings.

Methods

A total of 589 adults were screened using a locally validated measure of mental health and functioning. Of all, 420 (71%) met the study inclusion criteria of elevated symptom levels and functional impairment: 214 and 206 in three intervention and three control villages, respectively. Intervention participants met weekly for eight sessions in groups of eight to ten adults. Following completion of treatment, 175 (85%) controls and 158 (74%) intervention participants were re-assessed. Regression analyses compared pre- and post-intervention scale scores.

Results

We did not find an intervention effect for reducing the burden of depression and anxiety symptoms when compared with the control sample. Impact on functioning was mixed and there was an increase in use of positive coping strategies.

Conclusions

The lack of mental health impact may be because the mental health problems and dysfunction were not due to disorder, but were normal responses to struggles of daily living experienced by this community and not addressed by the intervention.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to all the Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh (RATA) staff who provided insight into the problems of the local population, implemented the intervention, and informed its ongoing adaptation, as well as those who contributed to the overall logistics which made possible both the intervention and the associated research. We would also particularly like to thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Indonesia, and the USAID Victims of Torture Fund, who provided the necessary institutional and financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mental Health and Applied Mental Health Research Group, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Room 861, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Judith Bass & Maya Nadison

  2. Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh (RATA), Bireuen, Aceh, Indonesia

    Bhava Poudyal

  3. Global Health Initiative, Yale University and HealthNet TPO, 34 Hillhouse Avenue, P.O. Box 208206, New Haven, CT, 06520-8206, USA

    Wietse Tol

  4. Department of International Health and Applied Mental Health Research Group, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Laura Murray

  5. Center for Refugee and Disaster Response and Applied Mental Health Research Group, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Paul Bolton

Authors
  1. Judith Bass
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  2. Bhava Poudyal
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  3. Wietse Tol
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  4. Laura Murray
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  5. Maya Nadison
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  6. Paul Bolton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Judith Bass.

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Bass, J., Poudyal, B., Tol, W. et al. A controlled trial of problem-solving counseling for war-affected adults in Aceh, Indonesia. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47, 279–291 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0339-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0339-y

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