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He gradually understood that he was not a weak person , and that he had intentionally been severely humiliated . The adults who ran the youth centre taught him to breathe consciously and calmly when he felt afraid . He began to learn the language – and did so quickly and without stress when he practised with his new friends . Being able to go to school and speak the language made him proud . He had acquired some skills . He felt stronger .
All this , of course , took time . He still experienced many afflictions , and at times felt frustrated and abandoned . The youth centre contacted the doctor to whom Ibrahim had been assigned . The doctor was friendly and listened to him , did a thorough examination , and recommended more specialised treatment . Ibrahim went to see a helper who assisted him to process all the hurt he had felt . He learned some grounding exercises that helped him to stay in the present . When the helper told him the dragonfly story , it appealed to him and made sense .
He particularly liked the dragonfly ’ s transformation , when it recalled good memories from the past and flew off towards the future . Over time he became less sad and was bothered more rarely by bad memories .
After several months in the youth centre , Ibrahim was placed in a family . He was well received . The family ’ s teenage children treated him as a friend and took him to football training . Ibrahim felt competent again because he had played football before . The sad memories retreated further , and he became happier . In addition , Ibrahim was told that his parents were safe in Turkey . This meant a lot to him , because he had often worried about them and wondered how they were . He could breathe more easily .
HELP AND ACTION
3.6.2 Louis , 45 , Democratic Republic of Congo . How tools help .
Louis did not receive help until long after his abuse has ended . He was overtaken by traumatic reactions , including guilt and shame , powerlessness , amnesia ( loss of memory ), overactivation , depression and suicidal thoughts .
Louis
To deal with these trauma reactions , the helper can :
• Provide social support .
• Provide information about rights .
• Teach grounding exercises .
• Provide information on services in the municipality .
• Provide psychoeducation about nightmares and how to deal with them .
• Provide psychoeducation about guilt and shame .
After Louis escaped , he lived in a refugee camp in Morocco for more than ten years . Here he was able to make a life for himself but did not feel safe because he was always afraid of being expelled . It was a great relief when he was finally resettled in a safe country .
He was quickly assigned a place to live , and volunteers offered him assistance for the first time . He spent a lot of time in a cafe that helpers had organised . It was a meeting place for refugees , where helpers with knowledge of mental health worked . He met other refugees