Heal
Beginning treatment
The Parcours d’Exil healing centre is an accredited health care centre recognized by the Île-de-France Regional Health and Social Affaires Agency (la Direction Régionale des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales d’Île-de-France, DRASS). The patients (more information on the trauma and symptoms) are welcomed into the centre and treated free of charge.
The team of professionals at Parcours d’Exil helps each patient embark on an individualized course of therapy that will allow him or her to regain a feeling of self-respect and self-confidence as well as to restore a sense of trust in others. In addition to bettering their psychological and physical well-being, our goal is to enable patients to find their place in society. Our therapists are experienced professionals, having trained most notably with Dr. Mony Elkaïm.
The duration of the treatment depends on the patient’s personal history and how his or her behaviour evolves as a result of counselling. Generally, therapy is only needed for a short period of time. The average time a patient spends in therapy is roughly 6 months, but certain patients may remain in counselling for several years. The frequency of the therapy sessions may vary from once a week to once a month.
Treatments and services offered
► Individual Therapy: Torture victims bear physical as well as psychological scars that continue to cause profound suffering. Thus, by entering into treatment, each patient benefits from the care of doctors, kinesitherapists, psychologists/psychotherapists or an art therapist.
The multidisciplinary treatment they receive is coordinated by a doctor who refers the patient to one or several other members of the team following a medical assessment.
Depending on their needs and on their comfort level in a more social setting, patients can join the “Integration Program”, where they participate in various educational activities that are above all therapeutic in nature.
► Family Counseling : what soon emerged from our work in individual therapy was that incorporating the patient’s family into the process was sometimes the key to his or her healing. Victims often take out their traumatic life experiences on their loved ones, who in turn become “indirect victims.” Far too often, however, the pain felt by family members is neglected or even silenced.
The goal of the family counselling services is to systematically conceive of an arrangement that would allow the family members to have healthy and harmonious interactions with one another. We achieve this by defusing any tension, encouraging the sharing of repressed thoughts (products of past trauma that could cause problems in the present), and rekindling self-confidence in each member of the family.
When counselling the nuclear family as a whole, remaining aware of and sensitive to the cultural background of the patients is extremely important. Particular care is taken to ensure that parents are able to fully step back into their role.
The families of asylum seekers and refugees who live in France walk a constant tightrope: in addition to negotiating the cultural differences between France and their home country, they are burdened with the effects of the intense suffering they have endured and as well as the brutality of exile itself.
► Integration Program : As a complement to our other therapy services, patients can participate in our “Integration” workshops led volunteer lecturers and facilitators. The program is financed by the non-profit La Voix de l’Enfant (The Child’s Voice) and the Société Générale banking group foundation.