The Pave Project Report - Queen's University Belfast

The PAVE Project Report 37
“There was no therapies about, then. And the impact of what happened to people,
not even as a result of the Troubles, in any sort of traumatic situation, I don’t
think it was understood how much of an impact it did have on people.”
(Interviewee
E)
Due to this lack of structured help in the early days, Hamber (2003) found that today
there is a considerable lack of trust and communication between victims groups and
the statutory sector. “Crudely put, voluntary groups remain suspicious of official
motivation for getting involved in assisting victims, after years of neglect, and feel
their work is not appreciated” (Hamber, 2003, p. 20).
In addition, Caserta and Lund (1993) suggested that, while many of these groups may
help improve coping and social functioning of their members, there is the potential for
serious negative side effects, such as pressure to conform to group norms, stress
related to group obligations, interdisciplinary tensions, feelings of being overwhelmed
or inadequate, or even dissemination of ineffective or inappropriate social or coping
skills. In addition, Galinsky and Schopler (1994) considered the dangers for staff,
especially per voluntary workers or those on short-term contracts, of suffering from
burnout and power struggles between committee members, that oftentimes result in
tension and additional stress for staff and service users.
In this and the next chapter, the results of the Services Survey (Phase 1) are described
and analysed. First, findings regarding the formation of the groups, their aims, their
members and services users, and their services are reported, and then a detailed