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Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Work
“In many cases the patient who comes to us has a story that is not told and which as a rule no one knows of. To my mind, therapy only really begins after the investigation of that wholly personal story. It is the patient's secret, the rock against which he is shattered.”
Carl Jung
In her paper Coping with Adversity, the social anthropologist Elizabeth Colson sets out the grim reality of working with refugees:
“People who are expelled from their country have to cope with the violation of their homelands; grief for those who died en route or on arrival; fear of continuing harassment from those who oppressed them, and fear of the unknown. They often find that familiar coping techniques no longer work, so have to develop new modes of behaviour – while coping with rage, and loss of trust in human beings. Sometimes they begin to see themselves as inhabitants of an immoral universe, where it is pointless to expect justice or decent treatment, except perhaps from the closest kin – and even these may fail in crisis. Cynicism and opportunism are not unlikely outcomes.”
How do we help a person rebuild their broken social world or heal a turbulent inner world ravaged by horrific nightmares? The refugee in the mind is a stark reality. The whole question of healing is riddled with paradoxes because our clients are survivors who have been broken. In A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway encapsulated the struggle of the survivor and the journey of those who help them recover.
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too, but there will be no special hurry.”
We are building and strengthening a core clinical team comprised of volunteer psychotherapists, psychologists, movement therapists, complementary therapist and psychiatrists. We are developing a therapeutic arts programme staffed by volunteers who employ music, visual arts and writing. Successful rehabilitation requires a comprehensive view of a person’s problems. The team regularly finds innovative solutions to complex problems in which roles are adjusted through case sharing and mutual interaction.
The practice is creating a safe space where a therapeutic relationship capable of confronting and withstanding the experiences of atrocity and loss is possible. To do this we have to understand the nature of human rights violations and the impact they have on individuals, family and the next generation. Human Rights Law recognizes the right of those who have suffered from gross human rights violations to treatment and other measures to alleviate the effects of these violations. Our responsibility as clinicians at the Helen Bamber Foundation is to assist survivors through appropriate therapeutic measures and to empower their own efforts to recover. We offer a range of therapeutic activities adapted to the needs of our clients. The aim is to strengthen their capacity to cope with the complexities of ordinary ever day life unencumbered by the effects of past trauma.
