Iraqis haunted by war overwhelm mental health facilities

Therapy pooches bring peace of mind at Spanish psychiatric centre

KHAZER, Iraq, April 11, (Agencies): Sixyear-old Mustafa suffers nightmares, cries at the sound of airplanes and occasionally wets himself, symptoms that worsened last year when an explosion in Mosul killed his cousin and wounded his father before his eyes.

He was a young witness to more than two years of Islamic State rule and months of heavy fighting aimed at driving the extremists from Iraq’s largest city. Like countless Iraqis, he shows symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, an epidemic borne of years of war that is overwhelming the country’s limited mental health services.

“He wants me to always stay with him. He is afraid, he is scared of loud noises. Even when the children speak loudly he becomes scared,” Intisar Jadan Sultan, Mustafa’s mother, said at the Khazer camp for displaced people.

“Even when we arrived at the camp, he thought the fighting was still going on. He didn’t understand that everything was over. He doesn’t sleep well, he cannot relax, he screams and cries until I take him in my arms.”

Intisar said Mustafa’s problems started when the family had to flee Zumar, their hometown, three years ago, but worsened considerably when the fighting started in Mosul last November.

Mental health professionals say many displaced Mosul residents experience nightmares, anxiety, depression, aggression and irritability, all signs of PTSD, a condition that may develop as a result of exposure to serious violence.

“The rate of the population in Mosul that has been affected during this war, it must be double than in other wars,” said Dr. Karzan Jalal Shah, director of the Irbil Psychiatric Hospital. “As a result of living under IS rule for two years, not only the war, but the killings, beheadings, cutting off of hands in front of people, everyone will have some kind of psychological symptoms.”

The hospital receives about five patients from Mosul every day, and there is little it can do beyond referring them to private organizations. The hospital has only seven psychiatrists, who receive only a quarter of their salary, and little medication because of the severe financial crisis affecting the Kurdish regional government.

As a result, waiting lists are long and they can dedicate only a few minutes to each patient, many of whom never turn up again because

In this April 5, 2017 photo, Intisar Jadan Sultan (left), sits with her family in a tent at the

Khazeer refugee camp in east Mosul, Iraq. (AP)

they cannot afford to regularly travel between the camps and Irbil, an hour’s drive away. “People come until they feel better, but it takes time to treat these cases,” Shah said.

Aid organizations provide some care in the camps. Doctors Without Borders has a psychiatrist in Khazer camp four times a week and a psychosocial counselor every day, while the International Organization for Migration runs a reintegration and socialization program for children.

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Tucked away in Spain’s Pyrenees mountains, patients at psychiatric facility Benito Menni stretch out across floor mats and stroke greyhound puppies Atila and Argi.

Puppy love is part of the treatment for conditions such as schizophrenia.

The facility, based in a town near the border with France, uses the dogs to help patients with intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions develop social skills and a sense of autonomy.

Alongside misty views of green rolling mountains, petting sessions with the eightmonth-old puppies have a calming effect serving as an emotional outlet for patients who struggle to connect with others.

Playing with those who are more active and sitting still with those who find moving a daily challenge, the dogs tailor their behavior according to the needs of their patient.