Andrea Blanch's Page

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

Interest and experience with the impact of violence and trauma on people's lives,particularly women. Also ttravel in Israel and Palestine that showed me the peacework going on that is not known about in this country.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

Andrea Blanch, PhD, is President of the Center for Religious Tolerance, a non-profit organization promoting the ideals of peace and religious tolerance. She is also a founding member of the Abrahamic Reunion, a group of Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze religious and lay leaders in the Holy Land who work for peace. A former state mental health commissioner, Dr. Blanch has published numerous professional articles, book chapters and edited volumes on serious mental illness and trauma, conflict management and systems change, and women’s mental health. She was founding director of the Collaborative for Conflict Management in Mental Health at USF and the National Trauma Consortium. Currently she works locally and internationally to promote women in leadership and to help groups and organizations resolve conflict, heal embedded social and historical trauma, and create conditions for sustainable peace. Dr. Blanch has been named as a Yale Fellow for 2009 in the Women, Religion, and Globalization program

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

The Balkans - Macedonia, Kosova
Armenia
Israel and Palestine
Jordan
India and Pakistan

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

USA

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

President and Director of the Center for Religious Tolerance

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://www.c-r-t.org

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Conflict Resolution, Gender, Organizational Development, Psychosocial

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Evaluation, Program Design, Program Administration, Research

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Evaluation of women's empowerment program for Muslim Arab women in northern Israel
Refugee trauma
Role of religion and spirituality in trauma recovery

If appropriate feel free to list several of your (or your organization's) publications

Blanch, A. (2008) Towards healing trauma in the Holy Land. PsycCRITIQUES—Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 53 (21), Article 2, May 21, 2008.

Blanch, A. (2008) Transcending violence: Emerging models for trauma healing in refugee communities. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Blanch, A (2008) Women’s Interfaith Peacemaking: Report from a Leadership Meeting in Amman, Jordan. Unpublished manuscript.

Blanch, A., Boustead, R., Boothroyd, R., Evans, M., Chen, H., and Schrepf, S. (2007) Conflict in systems of care: Is it an issue? Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health Newsletter, December 2007/January 2008.

Blanch, A. (2007) Integrating religion and spirituality in mental health: The promise and the challenge. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 30(4), 251-260.

Russanova, Z. and Blanch, A. (2007) Supported spirituality: A new frontier in the recovery-oriented mental health system. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 30(4), 247-250.

Boustead, R, Blanch, A, Evans, M, Boothroyd, R, and Chen, H (2006). Conflict: Roadblock to success or essential ingredient for change? Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health Newsletter, March, 2006.

Blanch, A (2006) The political as personal: The human side of suicide among young Palestinians. PsycCRITIQUES—Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 50 (50), December 14, 2005.

Blanch, A. (2005) Beyond the conflict: Women spiritual peacemakers in the Holy Land. Elixir, 1(1), 55-59.