Farzana organizes group therapy sessions on specific topics, ranging from anxiety to stress and insomnia. Also offers individual sessions. Working in a local clinic allows you to count on the collaboration of community health personnel, who disseminate information about mental health and psychosocial problems, promote available services, and point out cases that require specialized care.
UNHCR supports similar programs throughout Afghanistan. In Bamyan, in the Central Highlands region, at a group therapy session organized by another UNHCR partner, WSTA (Watan Social and Technical Services Association), about 20 women sit together to discuss how to manage stress following the new restrictions introduced by the de facto authorities, which have made their lives much more difficult.
“It’s a place where I can come to talk about my problems. “I have nowhere else to go.”
“Nowadays there is a lot of domestic violence. There are conflicts, there are no opportunities, no work; [o] There are only jobs that pay little,” says one of the participants, Fátima, 38, mother of four daughters who have not been able to go to school since the restrictions that prohibit girls from studying beyond the sixth grade came into force. . “This is the first time I have attended these sessions and I think they are very useful. It’s a place where I can come to talk about my problems. “I have nowhere else to go.”
Another participant, Najiba, 25, began attending group therapy sessions after suffering from depression. She was so afraid that she lost her appetite and abandoned her studies in obstetrics, one of the few professional opportunities left open to women. “I dreamed of finishing my higher education so I could take care of the family and pay our expenses, but when the Taliban arrived, I lost everything.” [y] my psychological problems began,” he says. “The sessions gave me hope and the psychologist helped me find strength. I decided to resume my studies and now I am studying [obstetricia] again”.
Disasters add to the needs
According to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Response Plan (HNRP) in 2024, more than half of the Afghan population have some psychological impairment, and one in five people suffers from more serious mental health problems.
Through its community monitoring work, UNHCR has also identified a widespread need for increased mental health and psychosocial support. The frequent emergencies caused by natural disasters and the arrival of family members forced to return from Iran and Pakistan have only aggravated the situation. In October last year, when a series of devastating earthquakes hit the western province of Herat, trained staff from UNHCR partners were quickly deployed to provide psychological first aid and emotional support to families who suffered losses. Similar measures were implemented when floods hit several parts of the country in May and July of this year.
