Stage I

In November 2009 Healing Minds Foundation brought four alternative therapists from the UK to work on the project in Kashmir. Over the course of six weeks we worked with patients who had been selected by Dr Arshad and his colleagues. We treated them in both the clinical environment of the hospital, and also in their villages. The average number of treatments for a patient during that time was between four and seven sessions that included counselling, homeopathy, physiotherapy, cranio-sacral therapy and Reiki. We also began to train some of the junior doctors and counsellors in the basics of these methods in order that they could continue to work with patients until stage II of the project.

With some of the girls and staff at the orphanage that we are working from in Traal, Kashmir Valley

 

 

At the Government Psychiatric Hospital, left to right: Jean Clack (Reiki practitioner), Dr Sadaqat Rehman, government clinical psychologist, Justine, hospital patient, Linda Cobbett (Reiki practitioner)

The results of this first stage were dramatically successful. Rather than being too cocky about this we must factor in two things: the first is that the people of Kashmir derive a great sense of support when people come in from the outside, aiming to ease their situation. They have felt very isolated during the course of the conflict, so just the arrival of foreign therapists in itself had a positive effect. Add to this the fact that many Kashmiris feel that they can speak much more freely and openly to outsiders’ about their problems, rather than to another Kashmiri, even if he or she is a doctor.

 

On a home visit in Srinagar

This is because there has been a great breakdown of confidence during the conflict, and very few people trust each other, particularly with sensitive personal information. The second factor is that most patients are used to having a maximum of two minutes with a doctor or psychiatrist in a crowded, noisy and chaotic outpatients’ department setting. We were treating patients individually in a quiet room, for up to an hour at a time. The combination of these things added to the therapies that were being given. To gauge the success of the treatments requires on-going assessment of the individuals. Dr Ashad Hussain and his staff will be making these assessments between the treatment phases.

Stage II

This involved on-going assessment of patients by Dr Arshad and his colleagues at The Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital. I returned to Kashmir in February 2010 for follow-up clinics. As there had been another recent round of violence it was not possible to see all the patients that we had treated in November and December 2009. Those who could get to the clinics that we held in Srinagar were doing well, and those who had made full recovery were sustaining these recoveries. We were able to extend the local clinics in the Srinagar area with the help of local doctors and psychiatrists, who referred trauma patients to the clinics.
What became increasingly apparent during the initial stages of the project was the urgent need for a fully integrated mental health support system in Kashmir. This has led us to Stage III of the project.

If you are interested in more information, or in helping our project, please contact us at info@www.justinehardy.com.