Common Threads Project
Rachel Cohen is a seasoned mental health professional with extensive experience in addressing the needs of survivors of sexual violence and individuals in conflict-affected areas. As the Founder and Director of Common Threads Project since January 2011, Rachel has created culturally-responsive, evidence-based approaches to support women's mental health. Prior to this role, Rachel worked as a Global Mental Health Consultant from September 2010 to September 2014, developing a child therapy center for refugees in Uganda and training staff in trauma care. Additionally, as a Project Leader and Clinical Consultant for IsraAID from September 2011 to May 2014, Rachel designed capacity-building programs for social workers in South Sudan and trained teachers in Kenya to provide psychosocial support. Rachel holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan, a certificate in refugee trauma from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, and a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Barnard College.
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Common Threads Project
Common Threads offers a psychosocial recovery program for women who have survived gender-based violence, war, and displacement. In many cultures when women have faced unspeakable atrocities, they've come together to share their experiences, to support one another, and to sew their stories onto cloth as a means to find their way out of despair. Common Threads gathers women to sew story cloths and recover from trauma together, integrating contemporary evidence-based trauma treatment with traditional practices that have enabled communities to promote healing and resilience. Common Threads -builds community capacity to provide psychosocial support for survivors of violence -develops culturally responsive interventions in collaboration with local partners -integrates traditional practices with contemporary trauma treatments -promotes survivors’ strengths rather than treating their “pathology" -empowers participants as they make their way from victims to survivors to agents of change In 2012, Common Threads’ pilot project was established in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, in collaboration with UNHCR and local partners Taller de Communicacion de Mujer and The Women’s Federation of Sucumbios. In 2014 we partnered with TPO Nepal and UNHCR to establish Common Threads Nepal, serving Bhutanese and Pakistani refugee women in Damak and Kathmandu. An additional project was launched in Bosnia in 2016, in urban and rural settings in and around Zenica, Tuzla, and Bihać. Our most recent expansion is in Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and Panzi Hospital.