Artists, Activists, and Therapists Making Meaning of Collective Violence in Lebanon: A Community-Engaged Participatory Research Study

Author

Nawal Muradwij, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Psychology

Advisor

Maureen Allwood

Committee Members

Michelle Fine

Shuki Cohen

Rima Afifi

Tania Bosqui

Subject Categories

Clinical Psychology | Community Psychology | Multicultural Psychology

Keywords

collective violence, global mental health, trauma, participatory action research

Abstract

This study collaborated with community-engaged artists, activists, and mental health workers living in Lebanon to explore the community narratives that exist around collective violence in Lebanon. With the support of a community advisory board, in-depth interviews, and focus groups were utilized to understand the associations that participants had with the construct of collective violence as it pertains to communities in Lebanon and their understanding of its impact on collective mental health. The sample of artists, activists, and mental health workers framed collective violence in Lebanon as intergenerational, perpetual, and institutionally and politically entrenched. Cultural concepts that described the impact of collective violence on collective mental health, such as the term Ihbat (Collective Dejectedness), were elucidated from the participant’s narratives. Participants struggled to explore narratives of meaning making around perpetual violence, emphasizing instead a collective process of al-ta’ayush ma’ el ‘onf, or co-existence with violence, which emphasized survival over a search for meaning. Participants explored the role of artists, activists, and mental health workers in creating room for meaning making through creative, communal spaces while highlighting the structural and material barriers that impact the ability to maintain these spaces.

Recommended Citation

Muradwij, Nawal, "Artists, Activists, and Therapists Making Meaning of Collective Violence in Lebanon: A Community-Engaged Participatory Research Study" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5432