What psychological support should be given to Ukrainian refugees, children or adults, fleeing the war and arriving in Limousin? Guest of France Bleu Limousin this Monday morning, Doctor Nathalie Salomé, psychiatrist and head of the medico-psychological emergency unit of the Esquirol Hospital Center, indicated that he had already met, on Saturday, some of the refugees who arrived at the former Ehpad Marcel Faure – Faure in Limoges. “We are in the process of making a first inventory” she indicated, specifying that there was “two issues: there are those who suffer above all from exile, from leaving their homes in a brutal way, and from being uprooted. And then, _there are those who have experienced more traumatic things_which have been under the bombings which are perhaps a little more weakened than others” she analyzed.
Two traumas: war and uprooting
In both cases, how to go about it? What to tell them? What should be done ? “The first element of everything is hospitality. That’s how we collect them, _how to restore their faith in humanity_, by simply being there, by being present. That is already a very, very important element. It’s the way we receive them, how we cocoon them a little, that they have the impression that we consider them as someone important, that we also reassure them, that. They are lost, they are uprooted from their homes. And so, this first phase is already the most important phase that anyone can do. Moreover, this is what all these families do who also welcome people into their homes. It is extremely important“assured the psychiatrist.
Professionals go next “assess, see that in what state of stress they are. There are people who go through hardships in an adapted way, let’s say. That is to say yes, of course, the situation is difficult, but they react in a way that is not pathological. So of course, they can cry because they are far from home, because the situation is difficult, because the husband remained there. But that’s not pathology“explained Doctor Salomé.
Children play with the reality that is around them
“Afterwards, there are people who can undergo what are called _acute stress_and that’s what we’re going to assess, see if they need a bit more specific support, a bit tighter because they would be in states with for example a lot of anxiety, sleep disturbances, hyper-reactivity jumping at the slightest noise, etc. These are the ones we will try to identify and see if there is a little more advanced care needed for them.” she continued.
Finally invited to react to the testimony of a Ukrainian woman from Saint-Junien, who explains that her 7-year-old nephew (who has just arrived in France) “plays with tanks, planes and reproduces a little war scenes“, Nathalie Salomé confirmed that “children play with the reality around them. It’s nothing very worrying, but we have to see how it will happen in the future for him. But here it is logical. What is important is that he is already playing” explained the psychiatrist, specifying that the important thing was that this child “integrates it into his life course. It’s an episode that will last a very long time, but it will be part of their lives, of course.” she concluded.