Sudden violent death: social workers’ strategies for coping with a traumatic event in a Bedouin community

Abstract

Abstract This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore challenges and coping strategies of social workers following the traumatic death of eight women from a Bedouin village in southern Israel. The data highlight how religion and indigenous Bedouin knowledge and customs both assisted and impeded the study participants’ strategies. The findings suggest that familiarity with religion and indigenous knowledge and customs may be useful to social workers in helping to manage traumatic events. However, the findings also suggest that religious and cultural values that encourage suppression of emotion may have long-term negative effects on social workers.