Rights defenders undergo art therapy training in Aweil

January 26, 2021 (AWEIL) – A total of 15 human rights defenders in South Sudan have successfully concluded a three-day artistic therapy training held in the Northern Bahr el Ghazal state capital, Aweil on Wednesday.

The training, organised by South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN), equipped participants with coping strategies seen as a holistic approach towards addressing their traumatic and stressful experiences.

Art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.

James Bidal, head of SSHRDN secretariat, said artistic therapy inspires human rights defenders to recognise and express emotions through creative processes such as music, painting, poetry as well as spoken word.

He said human rights defenders of all categories can benefit from these therapies, including those with emotional distress and histories of trauma.

“Creative art clinic engage multiple sense and activates many areas of the brain making therapy experience one that uses the body, mind and works to heal and emotionally strengthen human rights defenders,” said Bidal

“This notion proved successful in numerous ways that differ from outmoded therapy practice. Our approach is tailored to accommodate each unique individual through art, music and spoken words therapies,” he added.

According to Bidal, trauma is an extremely irresistible and sometimes incapacitating reaction to the mental abilities of human rights defenders.

“The artist clinic will help in healing emotional trauma which is real as physical injury and can be more harmful and long lasting in the lives of human rights Defenders. Some forms of emotional trauma are psychological, happen over time and rarely heal on their own,” he stressed.

James Aguer Garang, the lead training facilitator, said one of the tasks faced by a society left in ruins after civil war is rebuilding of the social fabric of structural and social institutions that maintain peace and harmony.

“The trauma healing and stress management art-clinic initiative is to serve human rights defenders and communities in way that enables them to lead a process of healing and transformation in their respective societies so that they will be able to cope up with emotional healing processes,” he noted.

Margaret Francis, a participant, said the three-day training was important because she learned a lot of skills which would be applied in her daily life.

“We learned about trauma and stress management and how to handle stressful situations. We also learned that trauma can affect our emotional wellbeing as human rights defenders in South Sudan,” she explained.

Human rights defenders in South Sudan play a critical role in promoting respect for human rights and engage in a broad range of strategies, including documentation of rights violations, advocacy and litigation. However, very little is known about the impact of human rights work on the mental health of human rights defenders.

(ST)