Helping women deal with trauma

Traumatic events can leave an enduring psychological impact. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two psychologists about how they help women heal from trauma.

Jane Abatoni Gatete heads the Rwanda Organization of Trauma Counsellors (ARCT- Ruhuka). She has over 25 years of expertise and practical experience in mental health support. As well as working as a psychiatrist in individual and group settings she has trained hundreds of others to support a nation recovering from the trauma of war and genocide.

Dr Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists with 30 years’ experience working in some of London's first trauma clinics and Broadmoor prison. She says that traumatic events, experiences that change your identity, can happen not only acutely and suddenly but take place slowly over time. While many people will recover naturally, some have long-term impacts that require treatment. Her latest book is called Unspeakable: Stories of Survival and Transformation After Trauma.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Gwen Adshead, credit Richard Ansett BBC. (R) Jane Abatoni Gatete, courtesy Jane Abatoni Gatete.)