April 25, 2018 - A New Group at MEDU
Last week on April 17th, we started the group that I have been helping to develop since I got here. We have now held two sessions, and it seems to be going extremely well. The group is designed as a psycho-educational group, which means that it is like a heavily discussion-oriented class in which we, as the leaders of the group, present various topics and teach skills, but there is a strong focus on discussion and group members sharing their experiences with each other.
I am co-leading the group with three of my MEDU colleagues who will continue the group after I leave. The first, Giulia Chiachella, is a medical doctor and the U.S. equivalent of a masters-level therapist, who is currently studying to obtain the U.S. equivalent of a PhD psychologist degree. She has worked with refugees for many years, primarily in Sicily and Southern Italy. The second, Francesca Di Rienzo, is a masters-level therapist, who got her degrees in the U.S. and in Scotland. She currently spends most of her time helping MEDU clients with their psycho-social needs, meaning that she helps them connect with community services. She also runs the music group I have attended with Hannah and manages the MEDU Psyche' office. The third, Abdoulaye Toure, is MEDU's primary cultural mediator in Rome. He has been in Italy for 8 years and was a refugee himself from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He speaks French, Italian, English, and about five different African languages. They are super talented, caring people, and it has been really fun to co-lead the group with them.
We had five group members the first session and four yesterday. Two from the first session were not able to make it yesterday because of conflicts, and we had one new member who wasn't able to make it the first time. We had initially wanted to invite 10 to come, realizing that it is difficult to get everyone to come and to attend consistently. We were able to invite seven. It looks like we will have six regular attenders. Obviously, it would be better to have more members than leaders, but our composition seems to be working well and gives the MEDU folks (who have never led groups) the chance to lead the group while I am here to provide consultation and to continue leading it after I leave on May 20th.
It may also be useful to note here that most of the group members (and most MEDU patients in general) live in refugee centers outside of Rome, so it can be difficult to get to us. Most must travel over an hour to get there, often having to walk to a bus, to take a train, to a metro, to another bus, and then walking a distance to our office. Their centers often provide transportation tickets for medical/psychological appointments, and sometimes MEDU helps cover transportation costs.
We chose group members who all spoke English so that the group could be held in one language without translation. Our current group members come from Nigeria, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. Obviously, having the group in English works out well for me as far as speaking goes; however, in terms of understanding, the members speak English with such a thick accent and in such a modified way that it is often more difficult for me to understand than when I am listening to a group of people speak in Italian.
We used a refugee group model from the U.S. that I found and modified (with their permission) to fit our needs. It was designed to start with group sessions that focused on getting to know one another and lighter topics like "culture shock" in order to build trust and cohesion in the group before moving to more difficult topics like trauma and PTSD.
In the first session, as part of our introductions we felt strongly that we needed to do something that would be fun and bonding in a way that is consistent with their cultures instead of imposing traditional western ways of doing introductions. Abdoulaye had a great idea and suggested that we have each person share their "African name." He explained that almost everyone from sub-Saharan Africa has an "African name" that was given to them by their mothers and that no one typically knows. He said that these names are typically a little embarrassing because they tend to have grandiose meanings, like "King of the World." He said that his means "King of Africa." This turned out to be a stroke of genius. After explaining the purpose of the group at length and going over some rules, like maintaining what is shared in the group confidential, we did introductions, including "African name." Abdoulaye started, and it was amazing to see the tension in the room melt away and to see the members truly relax as they laughed and joked about their African names and talked about their home countries and families. We, as leaders, also shared unique things about our names, which the group members seemed to really appreciate.
After we did introductions, we easily moved into talking about what surprised them when they first got to Italy. Most of this discussion centered around food, but there were many interesting things that came up (e.g., being terrified to ride on the subway for the first time and his friends not believing him when tried to explain the subway to them, being freaked out by seeing two women kiss [I'm not sure if this was lesbian women kissing or the very common two-cheek Italian greeting kiss], etc.).
They really seemed to appreciate having a place to talk openly about their experiences and lives. At the end of the session we asked how they were feeling about what we were doing. They all expressed that it was nice to be able to talk. My favorite quote was when one member expressed that he struggles with significant stress and anxiety and that at the end of the group he felt lighter and better than he had in three months. After the group we provided juice and snacks, and it was nice just to take some time just to eat and talk casually together.
Yesterday's session was more intense. We had a fairly detailed outline of things we wanted to discuss about culture shock and the experience of coming to a new country. That said, we knew we would have to be flexible with that structure, depending on what came up. After talking about how people felt coming back to the group, Abdoulaye asked the group members to each share how long they had been in Italy and what cities they had been in since getting here. We were fairly surprised when each of them proceeded to share the whole story of them leaving their countries and arriving in Italy, including all of the kidnappings, imprisonments, slavery, beatings, perilous escapes, deaths, and trauma of making the water crossing. We made it very clear that no one had to share if they did not feel like it; however, they seemed to really want to share.
It seems inadequate to say that it was truly heart-wrenching to hear their stories, but I have no other words for it. All of them suffered significant trauma of some sort. Most of them saw people die. All of them were beaten, often every day for months. Most of them risked their lives to cross the sea from Libya to Italy. All of them had to be extremely courageous, inventive, and strong to get where they are. They also all talked about the difficulties of surviving all of that only to find racism and significant difficulty here in Italy.
We asked what it was like to hear others' stories. They said that they typically do not think about their story because it is too hard, but that it was helpful to hear others' stories to know that they are not alone. Some said that they used to think that it was just them that had been through such difficult experiences or that God was punishing them specifically.
I am interested to see where the group will go in future sessions. I really hope that it will go well, as I really want the group to continue after I leave. It seems really important for all people to have a place to talk with others who can understand what they have been through. It also seems important to have a place where experience can be viewed without reservation and valued for what it is.
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do this and to hear these stories. I am learning so much both personally and professionally. I really wish I could stay here longer, and I'm super grateful that I get to have the experience at all.
I am co-leading the group with three of my MEDU colleagues who will continue the group after I leave. The first, Giulia Chiachella, is a medical doctor and the U.S. equivalent of a masters-level therapist, who is currently studying to obtain the U.S. equivalent of a PhD psychologist degree. She has worked with refugees for many years, primarily in Sicily and Southern Italy. The second, Francesca Di Rienzo, is a masters-level therapist, who got her degrees in the U.S. and in Scotland. She currently spends most of her time helping MEDU clients with their psycho-social needs, meaning that she helps them connect with community services. She also runs the music group I have attended with Hannah and manages the MEDU Psyche' office. The third, Abdoulaye Toure, is MEDU's primary cultural mediator in Rome. He has been in Italy for 8 years and was a refugee himself from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He speaks French, Italian, English, and about five different African languages. They are super talented, caring people, and it has been really fun to co-lead the group with them.
We had five group members the first session and four yesterday. Two from the first session were not able to make it yesterday because of conflicts, and we had one new member who wasn't able to make it the first time. We had initially wanted to invite 10 to come, realizing that it is difficult to get everyone to come and to attend consistently. We were able to invite seven. It looks like we will have six regular attenders. Obviously, it would be better to have more members than leaders, but our composition seems to be working well and gives the MEDU folks (who have never led groups) the chance to lead the group while I am here to provide consultation and to continue leading it after I leave on May 20th.
It may also be useful to note here that most of the group members (and most MEDU patients in general) live in refugee centers outside of Rome, so it can be difficult to get to us. Most must travel over an hour to get there, often having to walk to a bus, to take a train, to a metro, to another bus, and then walking a distance to our office. Their centers often provide transportation tickets for medical/psychological appointments, and sometimes MEDU helps cover transportation costs.
We chose group members who all spoke English so that the group could be held in one language without translation. Our current group members come from Nigeria, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. Obviously, having the group in English works out well for me as far as speaking goes; however, in terms of understanding, the members speak English with such a thick accent and in such a modified way that it is often more difficult for me to understand than when I am listening to a group of people speak in Italian.
We used a refugee group model from the U.S. that I found and modified (with their permission) to fit our needs. It was designed to start with group sessions that focused on getting to know one another and lighter topics like "culture shock" in order to build trust and cohesion in the group before moving to more difficult topics like trauma and PTSD.
In the first session, as part of our introductions we felt strongly that we needed to do something that would be fun and bonding in a way that is consistent with their cultures instead of imposing traditional western ways of doing introductions. Abdoulaye had a great idea and suggested that we have each person share their "African name." He explained that almost everyone from sub-Saharan Africa has an "African name" that was given to them by their mothers and that no one typically knows. He said that these names are typically a little embarrassing because they tend to have grandiose meanings, like "King of the World." He said that his means "King of Africa." This turned out to be a stroke of genius. After explaining the purpose of the group at length and going over some rules, like maintaining what is shared in the group confidential, we did introductions, including "African name." Abdoulaye started, and it was amazing to see the tension in the room melt away and to see the members truly relax as they laughed and joked about their African names and talked about their home countries and families. We, as leaders, also shared unique things about our names, which the group members seemed to really appreciate.
After we did introductions, we easily moved into talking about what surprised them when they first got to Italy. Most of this discussion centered around food, but there were many interesting things that came up (e.g., being terrified to ride on the subway for the first time and his friends not believing him when tried to explain the subway to them, being freaked out by seeing two women kiss [I'm not sure if this was lesbian women kissing or the very common two-cheek Italian greeting kiss], etc.).
They really seemed to appreciate having a place to talk openly about their experiences and lives. At the end of the session we asked how they were feeling about what we were doing. They all expressed that it was nice to be able to talk. My favorite quote was when one member expressed that he struggles with significant stress and anxiety and that at the end of the group he felt lighter and better than he had in three months. After the group we provided juice and snacks, and it was nice just to take some time just to eat and talk casually together.
Yesterday's session was more intense. We had a fairly detailed outline of things we wanted to discuss about culture shock and the experience of coming to a new country. That said, we knew we would have to be flexible with that structure, depending on what came up. After talking about how people felt coming back to the group, Abdoulaye asked the group members to each share how long they had been in Italy and what cities they had been in since getting here. We were fairly surprised when each of them proceeded to share the whole story of them leaving their countries and arriving in Italy, including all of the kidnappings, imprisonments, slavery, beatings, perilous escapes, deaths, and trauma of making the water crossing. We made it very clear that no one had to share if they did not feel like it; however, they seemed to really want to share.
It seems inadequate to say that it was truly heart-wrenching to hear their stories, but I have no other words for it. All of them suffered significant trauma of some sort. Most of them saw people die. All of them were beaten, often every day for months. Most of them risked their lives to cross the sea from Libya to Italy. All of them had to be extremely courageous, inventive, and strong to get where they are. They also all talked about the difficulties of surviving all of that only to find racism and significant difficulty here in Italy.
We asked what it was like to hear others' stories. They said that they typically do not think about their story because it is too hard, but that it was helpful to hear others' stories to know that they are not alone. Some said that they used to think that it was just them that had been through such difficult experiences or that God was punishing them specifically.
I am interested to see where the group will go in future sessions. I really hope that it will go well, as I really want the group to continue after I leave. It seems really important for all people to have a place to talk with others who can understand what they have been through. It also seems important to have a place where experience can be viewed without reservation and valued for what it is.
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do this and to hear these stories. I am learning so much both personally and professionally. I really wish I could stay here longer, and I'm super grateful that I get to have the experience at all.
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