Negotiation of gender responsibilities in resettled refugee populations through Relationship Enhancement training

Bibliographic Data

ID2394933
AuthorsGoli Amin Bellinger (U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume50
Issue3
Pages455-471
Publication date2013-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461513481025
PMID23599392
OpenAlexW2007746418
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited15

Being uprooted, displaced, and resettled can produce great tension in refugee marriages. This paper details a technique to help refugees recognize and manage changes and threats to traditional gender roles after resettlement to western countries. A case study from a multisite psycho-educational marriage project illustrates the application of the Relationship Enhancement model with a Bhutanese couple. Through empathy and structured dialogue, the couple is coached to identify their core concerns about the changes in their lives and come up with mutually beneficial solutions. Focusing on the redistribution of each gender's prescribed responsibilities allows the clinician to respond to the cultural structuring of equitable division of labor while helping families to address new responsibilities in managing household duties, parenting, employment, and finances

Geography · Negotiation · Political science · Refugee · Sociology · Gender Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Health and Trauma · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology