AFGHANISTAN

training afghan arts-therapists

.According to all our afghan interlocutors, the training of afghan arts-therapists offers an exciting tool for mental and social reconstruction. In their opinion Kabul has to be the first location for developing such practices, which may then be safely brought, after a few years, to other parts of their country...

Nevertheless, the projected extension of a part of this pilot action to another province ­in the form of training a few professionals from Badghis (or Farah) with the Kabul group- will be, if possible and safe, an interesting test experience that we hope good, and which will provide useful indicators for the pursuing of these projects.

.Arts-therapy has existed in the past in Afghanistan, at least in Kabul as far as we know : this had been introduced and developped in the late 70’s /early 80’s , in the psychiatric hospital services at least...

The civil war and then the talebans have destroyed these services -materials and human resources- up to nothing. Mr Salam Akbar, today a professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts in Kabul and coordinator of the Afghan NGO CRA (partner of this project), is one of these ancient art-therapists, as well as Mrs Alima -also professor inthe FFA- who still occupies the function of art-therapist in the Kabul Mental Hospital despite the complete absence of material means.

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