According to local professional therapist Cindy M. George, everyone needs counselling at one point or another, including leaders of Government. Photo: VINO/File

Director of Medical Services (Chief of Medical Staff) Dr June M. Samuel, left, on the show Honestly Speaking with Claude O. Skelton-Cline, right, on January 9, 2018. Photo: Facebook

Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the Virgin Islands on September 6, 2017. Photo: VINO

Dr George, a Couples and Family Therapist who holds a Doctorate in Marital, Couples, and Family Therapy, from Barry University, explained that we could now be seeing just who people really are. She said, “what happens when you are faced with trauma and something traumatic is immediately you want to cope, you want to [know] how am I going to get through this and the survival instinct kicks in- fight or flight."

“People then reached into themselves and tried to say who am I really in this instance. Sometimes a lot of the things that they have been not wanting to say to people, telling people how they really feel about them, and it could be positive or negative. Those things came out because… you have that sense of oh my goodness I have to be who I am now to be able to get through this, to be able to cope.”

Director of Medical Services (Chief of Medical Staff) Dr Samuel, M.B.B.S, DM (Psychology) further explained that, “Disaster and wide-reaching trauma as we have experienced will bring about certain types of feelings. There is the fear, the anxiety, the worrying, not sleeping, not feeling so well, feeling depressed, just having some negative feelings. Persons will find ways to try to feel better and those ways that they choose to try to feel better may either be functional or dysfunctional.”

Functional Behaviour

While the functional way is to seek help from professional counsellors, most persons have reservations about doing this. It was stated that most Caribbean black males in particular find it hard not only to admit they need help but also to do introspection and honestly share their feelings.

Some persons may feel they cannot allow themselves to be so vulnerable, while others may believe that the services may not be confidential. The doctors reassured listeners that they are professionals and were adequately trained to help them through these tough times.  

To those that believe “The notion that everything can be solved at church or at the altar specifically,” Mr Skelton-Cline said, “Some things are cast out but most things are going to have to be counselled out.” He further explained that many persons are told by pastors and church leaders that their faith must be weak if they have those negative feelings and are encouraged to read their bibles and pray more.

However, while religion has its place in the healing process, he too advocates that professional help should be sought when needed.

Dysfunctional Behaviours

It seems too that persons are more inclined to turn to dysfunctional behaviours because of what Mr Skelton-Cline calls bad theology and other misconceptions. Dr Samuel said, “Some engage in dysfunctional behaviours like, if they were drinking before they may be drinking more now, if they were smoking before they will be smoking more now.”

Of major concern was the fact that before hurricane Irma 60% of residents had a chronic disease. The stress of the storms and the conditions that followed further exasperated the conditions. As Dr Samuel said, “So if people were eating badly before they are now going to eat badly now. The behaviours that we may have been engaging in previously to try to cope with whatever we were feeling then, now that it is high stress we are going to engage in those behaviours more.”

Many persons have noted that in came cases the hurricanes brought out the worst in people. “These hurricanes have brought out the best and worst in some of us,” Sixth District Representative Honourable Alvera Maduro-Caines stated in her address to the Eleventh Sitting of the Second Session of the Third House of Assembly (HoA) on December 13, 2017.

She noted that while there are some who were “opening their homes to persons who lost their homes, feeding the community and giving what they could to others,” there are others who were taking advantage of the situation and making life difficult for residents, citing particularly landlords who were unfair to tenants and businesses who engaged in price gouging.

Everyone can benefit from counselling

When asked by the host if ‘the men in power’ need counselling, Dr George replied, “Everybody needs counselling at one point or another.”

She indicated that therapy is a collaborative effort and a partnership relationship and that these persons [in authority and leadership roles] should not feel weak or not in control to seek therapy.

People recovery Needed

“We talk a lot about the recovery of the country and its really important for us to stress that we have to ensure that our people recover as quickly as possible and in keeping with our infrastructure that we are paying so much attention to, because at the end of the day the human resource is what is going to give us the value,” Dr Samuel said.

According to Mr Skelton-Cline, “The social ills and the social challenge that is before us is more devastating than what Irma or anything else is going to be able to do and if we don’t pay attention to that and if we just give lip service and when we look at our budgeted items [and] it's not properly resourced we still are going to remain in a deficit.”