Home - Amal Stories

There is hope... always

ABOUT AMAL

Amal is the first of its kind children’s series classified under “bibliotherapy”; the use of books as therapy in the treatment of mental and/or psychological disorders.

Amal seeks to build the needed skill set and coping mechanisms for children to learn how to deal with previous disturbing events and build mental and social resilience to face future incidents.

Meaning “HOPE” in Arabic, “Amal” targets 9+ year old children and adolescence who come from hard places. This is a term that has been used to describe children who experienced some type of abuse, neglect or trauma during their lives.

ABOUT AMAL

A series of 9 books, Amal is the first of its kind classified under “bibliotherapy”; the use of books as therapy in the treatment of mental and/or psychological disorders.

Amal seeks to build the needed skill set and coping mechanisms for children to learn how to deal with previous disturbing events and build mental and social resilience to face future incidents.

Meaning “HOPE” in Arabic, “Amal” is a book series targeting 9+ year old children and adolescence who come from hard places. This is a term that has been used to describe children that have experienced some type of abuse, neglect or trauma during their lives.

After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water

continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.

-Arthur Golden

After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.

-Arthur Golden

BIRTH OF AMAL

In the last decade, millions of children’s lives were changed, due to wars and disputes, earthquakes and other natural disasters and the pandemic.

Protracted displacement, loss of loved ones, witnessing the horrors of war, or merely living instability of the era, have all left children scarred.

The devastating psychological, mental, and emotional effects had a grave and tangible impact on these children’s behavior and general mood.

Left unaddressed, this negative impact will not only have short-term consequences on the quality of these children’s lives, but also long-term ones that would threaten their general wellbeing and that of those around them.

As publishers and content creators, Jabal Amman Publishers (JAP) felt the need to shoulder some of the responsibility and to take a step to address the issue. We decided to help these children – regardless of the degree of severity.

JAP held a 3-day workshop on the impact of trauma and emotional losses on children who reside in violent or toxic environments or have witnessed any disturbing event. The workshop included mental health professionals, psychologists, child educators, authors, editors and creatives- a total of 15 participants.

People start to heal as soon as they feel heard.

-Cherly Richardson

GOALS

01

To infuse hope into the lives of innocent children trapped in their minds and bodies under the tyranny of the past.

02

To equip both children and their caregivers with coping mechanisms to help them build resilience in a holistic manner.

03

To provide caregivers with expert material and resources of coaching, instructions and guidance.

STATISTICS

Mental health conditions constitute a major burden of disease for children, adolescents and adults globally; whether it is war, natural disasters, the pandemic or other reasons:

‎97%‎

of Gaza’s children
feel unsafe ¹

‎33%‎

of Gaza’s children are
diagnosed with PTSD ²

One in Seven

adolescents experience mental disorders ³

‎3 million ‎

of Syrian children under 10 have known nothing but war ⁴

‎32.3% ‎

of adults report symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder
February 2023

‎50% ‎

of young adults (ages18-24) reported anxiety and depression symptoms in 2023 ⁵

Sources:

1 : View Source
2: View Source
3: Abbad, 2016 – Since the Arab Spring began in 2011
4: UNICEF analysis based on estimates from the Institute for
Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease
Study, 2019 – State of the World’s Children Report 2021
5: KFF analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, 2023

STATISTICS

Mental health conditions constitute a major burden of disease for Children, adolescents and adults globally; whether it is war, natural disasters, the pandemic or other reasons:

97% of Gaza’s children feel unsafe ¹

33% of Gaza’s children are diagnosed with PTSD ²

One in Seven adolescents experience mental disorders ³

3 million Syrian children under the age of 10 have known nothing but war ⁴

32.3 of adults report symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder
February 2023

50% of young adults (ages18-24) reported anxiety and depression symptoms in 2023 ⁵

Sources:

1 : View Source Link
2: View Source Link
3: (Abbad, 2016 – Since the Arab Spring began in 2011)
4: UNICEF analysis based on estimates from the Institute for
Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease
Study, 2019 as presented in the State of the World’s Children Report 2021.
5: KFF analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, 2023

Clinical Methodology

AMAL uses a methodology called Bibliotherapy; or therapeutic storytelling. It is an expressive therapy that involves reading of stories with the purpose of healing.

It trains caregivers to utilize books as a therapeutic method. The content of the stories is based on two evidenced-based brief approaches that have been found to be effective in treating children with mental disorders and psychological distress:

NETKID (Narrative Exposure therapy for KIDs)
TF-CBT (Trauma-Focused Cognitive behavioral therapy)

The first book was tested with UNHCR with positive results showing that participants gained knowledge, better accepted and normalized their feelings and reactions to stressful events, and learned some coping skills to manage stress.

Who Can Use Amal?

01

Children and adolescence who come from hard places aged 9+ years.

02

Parents and caregivers of non-specific psychological distress and PTSD- afflicted children.

03

Institutions and organizations involved in Psychosocial Support (PSS) programs.

04

Schools within the context of mental wellbeing awareness and/or for individual cases.

I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to be become.

-Carl Jung

I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to be become.

-Carl Jung

How to Use Amal?

AMAL consists of 8 story books and 1 workbook, and a collection of training resources that be used in two contexts:

Psychological counseling sessions
Individual psychotherapy sessions

The series is meant to help children and their caregivers who have been affected by traumatic or abusive events, or have lived in an abusive environment but do not display severe psychological symptoms. It serves to equip them with coping mechanisms and skills. These books can be utilized by caregivers, parents, school teachers or community leaders.

To get a clearer picture about Amal series, please visit our books page where you will find explanatory videos and helpful resources.

For agencies or mental health professionals who like to be introduced to / or trained on the Narrative Exposure modality, please visit our training page to request a training with our experts.