Lebanese woman pioneer shares her struggle in dealing with war traumatised patients

The Daily Star newspaper published yesterday an interview conducted with clinical psychologist, Aya Mhanna, as part of its weekly articles on pioneer Lebanese women. Mhanna runs a practice in the Metn region, and works in cooperation with media training companies, in Turkey, to conduct therapy sessions for Syrian journalists. Mhanna shared with newspaper the struggles she faces in her job, especially when working with Syrians war victims. She explained that it is hard, as a woman, to break the ice with groups of men, many of whom are profoundly religious and culturally conservative.  At the same time, she is often is bound to tackle some serious problems such as tendencies to commit suicide which religions condemn.
Mhanna also pointed out to the physical and mental challenges that accompany her work, amid lack of tolerance and solidarity from her colleagues in Lebanon, explaining that when seeking their assistance with Syrian patents many declined to do so. She gave the example of when she tried to find a psychiatrist to accompany her and medically diagnose some of her patients in Turkey, but no one wanted to join her team. Finally, Mhanna admitted that it is a daunting task dealing with war traumatised patients while attempting to keep a lid on one’s own emotions, and although psychologists are trained to work without emotion, she conceded that a tear occasionally escaped her eyes during such sessions.

Source: The Daily Star 26 August 2014