Group Therapy Activity

ACCTS Irbid Community Center conducted group therapy sessions for ladies suffering from trauma giving tools to deal and cope with their current situations.

19 February 2018

Irbid, Amman (ACCTS-AWT) - Trauma induced by war leads to a wide range of psychological consequences and disorders that can be quite disabling for individuals and their families.

In that light, ACCTS Irbid Community Center conducted group therapy sessions, which were attended by six women, for ladies suffering from trauma to give them tools to personally deal with the issue, and also to cope with their existing situation.

The counselor began with ice-breaker exercises to create an atmosphere of ease and to introduce oneself. She then exposed the ladies to the symptoms and stages of trauma. And this resulted in many discussions about their personal experiences with feelings of sadness and tears. There was a wonderful sense of unity among the members.

Furthermore the counselor explained to the members the cognitive therapy used for trauma treatment. And how they can control their thoughts and mindsets in order to change the feelings from sadness to happiness and from fear to bravery. Also the group learned some breathing, muscular and mental relaxation techniques.

At the end of the session, the group members met the manager of the center to express their happiness for taking care of them, requesting to have more related sessions.

Here is a feedback from one of the participants, her story and how the sessions have helped her.

I.S.R.A is a young Syrian refugee of 17 years old. She was 10-years-old when the war broke out in her village; she tells her story and remembers the frightening events:

"I was playing in front of our house with my younger brothers and other children when I heard the sounds of fighter-planes and missiles. I saw people shouting and running away with their children. My mother came to us and took us into the house." She remembers the events with a tremor of fear.

She continued, "One day, a group of armed men came into our house and  threatened to kill my older if he did not join their combat group, but my mother told them that he was alone and sick and could not fight. She begged them not to kill him."

"In another incident, I was home alone when a group of armed thieves broke in and locked me in a room with a man for three hours until my mother came and saved me.”

These horrible events affected I.S.R.A. to her core. She became afraid of going out on the street and going to school on her own. She suffered from social anxiety, shame and lacked self-confidence.

I.S.R.A is one of the ladies who attended the sessions and received one-on-one psychological counseling services at ICC as per request from her mother. During the individual counseling sessions, many of therapeutic methods were used, including cognitive therapy, muscle and mental relaxation, a practical training to reduce fear and she has been working to increase self-confidence through several exercises. There was a marked improvement at the end of the counselling sessions, according to the mother's observation and I.S.R.A herself.