Dr. Coline Covington reports on work she and fellow IDI member Frank Ochberg undertook in Tbilisi, Georgia. From her report:
IDI members Dr. Frank Ochberg and Dr. Coline Covington were invited to participate in the Global Initiative on Psychiatry (GIP) and Georgian Society of Psychotrauma (GSP) events held in Tbilisi 29th October – 5th November. A group of 20 mental health professionals from the region, including Georgians, Armenians and Azeris came together for workshops and talks on understanding and treating trauma – personal and collective. The event was coordinated and hosted by Dr. Jana Javakhishvili and Dr. Nino Makhashvili and held at a beautiful conference centre in the countryside two hours from Tbilisi.
Frank gave a presentation to the group on 1st November about post-traumatic stress injury and Stockholm Syndrome. Frank described the history of these categories, their physiological effects, and presented a video illustrating the use of the counting method, devised by Frank, in helping people to recall and work through traumatic experience.
Coline followed by presenting a detailed account of clinical work with a patient who had been held hostage for a year and a half and who also had a history of familial abuse.
Both Frank and Coline stressed the importance of the primary human need for attachment in understanding the psychological dynamics of trauma-bonding.
There was a very lively and thoughtful discussion with the group who described some of their own experiences in working with patients.
The next day summarized the work of the group over the preceding days and future plans. Informal discussions continued on the theme of trauma in relation to political upheaval and collective history.
At the end of each day, there was a wonderful dinner, highlighted by toasts and singing, and a lot of dancing. On the second evening, the group had dinner at an impressive winery (the largest in Georgia).
On Monday 3rd November, the group dispersed and Frank and Coline returned to Tbilisi with Jana and Nino. That evening Jana, on behalf of the Georgian Society of Psychotrauma, and Nino, on behalf of Ilia State University Mental Health Resource Centre, had arranged for Frank and Coline to give a joint presentation on trauma-bonding and Stockholm Syndrome at the Tbilisi University. There was an impressive attendance of approximately 300 people, including students, teaching staff, journalists and clinicians.
There had been a frightening tragedy only a week ago, affecting the university community: a woman professor had been murdered inside the university by her ex-husband, recently released from prison. There had been 27 other murders of women (femicides) by their partners in the last six months in Tbilisi, causing great distress and speculation about what was happening socially, how to understand these events and what preventive measures could be designed. Coline suggested that it reflected a social incongruence in which men are expected to be strong and powerful and yet there is high unemployment (nearly 30%) and few opportunities for men to be admired or to be productive. The ideal of being strong and powerful can then become tyrannical and persecuting and lead to violence as a way of expelling frustration and anxiety. Frank arranged contact with the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Programs, where a colleague oversees grant programs for research into crimes against women.
The audience was very engaged and asked interesting and helpful questions about aspects of trauma-bonding. Following the university lecture, Frank and Coline had a further meeting with Jana and Nino and a small group of journalists to discuss the current political situation in Georgia and the role of journalists.
The next day, Tuesday 4th November, Coline returned to the UK and Frank held a meeting with an audience of between 150-200 journalists and therapists at the Frontline Club, a sister of the Frontline Club in London. He presented his testimony from the sentencing hearing of Ariel Castro who confined and abused three women for a decade in Cleveland. Issues of trauma bonding, reporting violence, and tolerating tyranny were explored.
Although the South Caucasus region has a remarkable charm, warmth and hospitality for visitors, it also has a history of subjugation of small states by large neighbours, of ethnic violence, and of neglect of internally displaced persons. Outside of the formal meetings (which had an engaging informality), there was time for candid, personal exchange. The emotional legacy of Azeri-Armenian tension, exacerbated when an Azeri soldier killed an Armenian soldier on a NATO training mission, was evident at one point.
Frank and Coline thank Jana and Nino for their generous and warm hospitality that made this event so fruitful and creative for us all. The spirit of IDI, the legacy of IDI visitors to the region, particularly Vamik, was felt and acknowledged.
We regret missing our IDI colleagues in Stockbridge, but feel privileged to have linked IDI with this welcoming, historic boundary of East and West.
Interested readers may also see a report from Conference Coordinator Dr. Jana Javakhishvili here: Javakhishvili Report
Unless otherwise noted, IDI Blog Posts represent the opinions and/or work of individual IDI members working independently and do not necessarily represent the opinions and/or work of the IDI as a whole.
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