Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary opens with psychotherapist Dr. Albert Pesso meeting with a patient. After a period of silence, Dr. Pesso begins asking him questions and then describes the condition of dissociation. The film then transitions to a discussion about the influx of Rwandan refugee children into the Democratic Republic of Congo and how caregivers didn’t know how to cope with those traumatized children as they engage in reenacting the violence they had witnessed. It also discusses a cultural tradition of holding in emotions and seeking scapegoats within the DRC.

Interspersed with those explorations, Dr. Pesso demonstrates his therapeutic method of symbolic interaction with participants, during which he works with them to create new, nurturing memories to fulfill needs that hadn’t been filled in their childhood or that could help them overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Those sessions are then interwoven with interviews with those participants about what they felt and thought about the experienced.

The dialog is either in English or in French with English subtitles. Images include a combination of interviews and still photographs. Image and sound quality are very good.

References to violent, traumatic events makes this hard to witness at times, but the focus of the film is on how to overcome those sorts of traumas. Recommended for libraries collecting in the areas of African studies, psychology and social work.