Research

With deep roots in international clinical research and extensive experience working with youth in armed conflict zones, we have seen, first-hand, how violence impacts the physical, psychological, and emotional state of survivors. Our research has demonstrated its ability to affect meaningful change to enact policies, mitigate violence, and change lives for current and future generations.

​Our research has a clear priority – to better understand and therefore how to treat – those who are suffering in the most remote parts of the world affected by violence. Oftentimes, programs do not include an evaluation of their intervention – unfortunately with many good-sounding programs having adverse consequences. We aim to provide only quality programs that have proven to improve the lives of those often gone neglected. We also realize that many organizations have excellent programs that do work, but have not yet been researched and work to help provide that evidence as well as build evaluation capacity for agencies. Our unique research approach takes a multi-modal method to understanding the needs and how to best help people around the world affected by extreme violence. At the forefront of our research is the PERSON, not the funding body/donor, government, or researcher’s academic tenor.

• Targeted. We only work in countries where we have good local relationships – where people have invited us to come, requesting for help.

• Collaborative. We include local communities in the entire process, from development of the question, design and implementation, and discussion of results.​

• Ethnographic Approach. We take an ethnographic approach. Many scales are developed in high-income countries and not necessarily valid or appropriate for low-income communities suffering from armed conflict. Therefore, ethnographic approaches and mixed qualitative and quantitative methods are needed.