“When we have to make sense to the nonsense of trauma” Psychological intervention among shooting victims of January 29, 2017. Multicultural perspective
In late January of 2017, a Québec City-born deranged young man walked into the town’s Great Mosque on Sunday evening during a prayer meeting and opened fire on the group of praying men gathered in the main hall, killing six (6), injuring five (5) of them and leaving thirty-five (35) later “rescued” people—men, women and children—behind, in a state of total shock, a municipal first in that quiet, peaceful city’s history. The lone gunman’s act was targeting a specific cultural community, attacking them in their religious identity and even reaching them in their sense of security and well-being. Psychological crisis intervention was quickly organized following the ordeal and through, notably, the rapid intervention of a same culture, same language psychologist. The identified preliminary general crisis picture was then one of “adaptive stress” along with its transitory symptoms and of” exceeded stress” with its unrelated symptoms and carrying the risk of a build-up resulting in the display of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. A number of survivors also showed signs of “traumatic mourning,” painfully worsened by the burden of having to organize the sending (repatriation) of their deceased loved ones’ remains back to their homeland. The “native” psychologist began setting up the therapy sessions in the victims’ homes for the first few days, first in the form of using the” defusing” approach during family group meetings and then followed, over the course of the following weeks, by the use of targeted techniques known as” debriefing,” including a psychological assessment of the event, also using psychodynamic means. As for children, their candid expression of feelings through drawing was privileged and as is usually recommended in such circumstances. And beyond the fifteen (15) day therapy period and in accordance with the recommendations of the Order of Quebec psychologists, victims were then offered private sessions at the psychologist’s office. Three (3) months following the attack, two thirds (2/3) of the victims were progressively coming out of their trauma-related state of mind either without any aftereffect or, for some, only minor ones. For others showing some various degrees of sleep disorders such as recurring nightmares and “going out” phobia, they had actually” reactivated” their original symptoms in reaction to and triggered by inconsiderate social acts committed in their behalf by some local hostile individuals. Marked improvements were gradually noticeable within the targeted community through encouragement to verbalize their traumatic experience, psychologically identified as “illogical” and in so trying to help them see it as having some form of” meaning.” One year following the attack, many victims experiment a gradual return to normal functioning levels. Culture and religion act as protective factors, with “faith” being the ultimate contributor to resilience. Group solidarity, as well as social and political support have also helped to ease some of the victims’ pain. We also address the judicial process that gave the victims the much-needed opportunity to express and share their feelings and reactions about the traumatic experience. Recommendations are finally made to use as much as possible a professional of the same culture in the context of the trauma; or to be supervised by the latter to acquire a better knowledge of the culture; or to simply investigate the socio-cultural context and religion of the victims, if these are closely related to the context of mourning and their conception of death.