Educational Media Reviews Online

This short, hopeful documentary describes a new project to help Syrian refugees. In 2015, Yale began a study, in combination with Mercy Corps, to understand toxic stress in the lives of refugees, and how to counteract it. By taking DNA samples, measuring hormones in the "stress diary" of hair, and interviewing subjects from three different generations, they're learning more about the enduring impact of toxic stress.

But they are also discovering the value in focusing on resilience and the future, rather than trauma. They're studying the impact of their new 8-week intervention, wherein they teach refugees about the physiological effects of their trauma. This flirting with biological determinism is intended to give them agency. They hope it emancipates them from the guilt and shame they typically feel over the changes they notice in their own behavior. Then they will be free to focus on realizing a better future. As Dr. Cathering Panter-Brick of Yale puts it, "we think, as clinicians or psychologists, that it's the past that determines health; I really think it's the future that determines health."

This video is well produced and engaging. It provides a succinct overview of Yale and Mercy Corps' evolving approach to helping refugees. Highly recommended for courses in psychology, counseling, and refugees.

Awards:

Best Documentary Short, 2020 RAW SCIENCE Film Festival; Best Documentary Short, 2020 SCI-ON Film Festival; Best Documentary Short, 2020 AFMX Festival

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