Family Reunification and the Trauma of Conflict

Family Reunification and the Trauma of Conflict

Survivor N.M, (25) year, married for five years, has two children, a resident from Sanaa, studied elementary school. The survivor complains that her husband suffered a severe psychological shock a year ago, followed by consecutive psychological pressure, the most recent of which was the interruption of his salary, all because of the continuation of the war. As a result, he began to doubt her and claims that she is betraying him. He says that the two children are not his children. He also says that he is under surveillance and they are cameras watching him everywhere he goes.

He could not sleep because of his fears, so that he would remain alert and prepared for any emergency that might happen. When he slept, he would get scared, scream, and beat his wife and children, last time he attacked her, he declared that he wants to kill her and kill the children. The survivor took the children and ran away from home at daybreak the following day.

Her husband started chasing her and tries to discredit her in the neighborhood where he lived, claiming that she betrayed him and that the children are not his children. He broke everything in his house, made problems with her brothers, and tried to kill her big brother who miraculously survived from certain death. Now he is in prison because of his assault with weapons and attempted murder on her brother.

She heard that his condition is getting worse in prison, and he started talking to himself and neglecting himself, which makes her sad and confused how to behave with this problem. The survivor says that he was a good father, a decent husband and man who respected her family. Now, she does not know how to help him, knowing that her older brother has brought a case of Khula -separation sought by wife- to get rid of him forever.

When she heard about the counseling and social counseling line 136, she started to communicate with a psychologist. The content of the consultation was as follows: What is the problem of my husband that brought him to doubt me, insult me and distort my reputation, assault my brother with weapons and what should I do about him?

Do you advise me to intervene and help to get him out of prison and reunite with him and face my brother? " I am confused how I return to him and face people after he distorted my reputation and threatened to kill me and kill my children and infringe on my brother, or should just accept my fate and do not interfere and let my brother finish what has begun- the procedure to prevent him and keep him in prison-?".

After listening to the survivor and expressing sympathy with her problem, it was agreed that she should first stop making any decision at the current time in order to assess the problem more accurately. Then survivor was educated about the issue and condition of the psychological problem of her husband. He suffers from a state of invaluable (mental schizophrenia) which is a severe psychological state, but it responds to the treatment of medication and psychological.  If she decides to help her husband, it is necessary to present her husband to a psychiatrist in prison and is subject to psychological drugs above all or referred to a psychiatric hospital to receive treatment there, since the problem is complicated and need more time to evaluate, the survivor was referred to the counseling line.

 It was agreed to continue to contact us through the free telephone psychological counseling and involve her brother in the same line and with the same guide, in order to unite the visions to address the problem of the survivor and her brother properly. After a number of evaluation sessions of the patient's problem with the wife and brother, it was agreed on a number of solutions that include: contacting with one of the members of the family of her husband, the older brother of the patient in order to understand the developments they reached, and waiver the case he has brought to punish his brother in law for weapons assault, attempted of murder and discredit his sister.

In exchange for being released from prison, he should be admitted to the psychiatric hospital in order to comply with drugs during the period to be decided by consultants there. Based on the response to treatment, the problem is dealt with for the benefit of everyone. The patient's brother was very pleased with this initiative and  emotional state of both families have improved. The next day, the brother of the wife and the brother of the husband made the waiver and took him out of prison. A week later, the patient was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Sana'a. After about a month of his stay in the hospital and taking Psychological drugs and medication, everyone began sees the patient's improvement significantly.

According to the wife, the patient asked her through the hospital to visit him and meet him to assess his psychological status after the treatment period, during the visit supervised by one of the psychiatric treatments in the hospital. The wife found that the husband admitted his illness and asked her to forgive him for what he had done.

He confirmed that he regretted everything he had done to her, her brothers and his children. He said that the disease he suffered was the cause of everything that happen to him. If he had not been sick, he would have done such things and she knows this best. He then asked the wife to help him continue the treatment and promised that he would follow all instructions given to him by the psychiatrist.

He asked her to supervise the use of the treatment after he leaves the hospital, he also promised not to chew Qat at all according to doctors’ instructions.

 The patient overwhelmingly hugged his wife and his children whom he asked her to bring. Everyone shed tears affected by what happened. A week later, the wife was informed that the hospital would make a temporary and conditional exit for a week.

The wife was advised to go back to him so that she can help in the supervision and attention to all the guidance provided by psychological as a kind of protection for her and the patient and the children as the wife and children have the right to accept it or not.

We also through the hotline we have confirmed all actions taken by the hospital and alert them to work and apply what has been learned during the previous period, especially the technique of "problem-solving".

A week after the husband left the hospital, the wife informed us that her husband's psychological status was stable and that he was committed to using the treatment and implementing all the guidelines recommended by the psychological treatment, and that her husband and she are going to the hospital tomorrow to make a final exit of the patient.

We are proud of the result reached by all, where the husband has been assisted and treated of the disease that almost eliminated him once and it was only a matter of time, and the reunite of the family again after it had almost reached the stage of non-return.