\u201cCaring for those who care for others. That was the spirit when we started in 2001,\u201d recalls Pierre, a psychologist. After several years in psychiatry, he joined the M\u00e9decins du Monde team to develop individual and group psychological support services for workers like Thierry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4832,"template":"","actualite_type":[12],"actualite_sujet":[177],"action_combat":[],"mdm_pays":[],"class_list":["post-4831","actualite","type-actualite","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","actualite_type-campaigns","actualite_sujet-care-without-judgment"],"acf":{"mise_en_avant":false,"chapeau":"\u201cCaring for those who care for others. That was the spirit when we started in 2001,\u201d recalls Pierre, a psychologist. After several years in psychiatry, he joined the M\u00e9decins du Monde team to develop individual and group psychological support services for workers like Thierry.","cta_type":"aucun","cta_lien":"","contenu":"
As for Thierry, now a coordination officer for engagement, he spent a long time on the front lines, working in harm reduction with people described as disenfranchised. Disenfranchised, because the bond between them and the rest of society has broken, if not significantly weakened over time. Despite their different realities\u2014living as a person experiencing homelessness, engaging in sex work, or struggling with addiction issues\u2014these users, \u201cwithout an apartment or family,\u201d often share the common experience of having \u201ccut ties for all sorts of traumatic reasons,\u201d explains Pierre. \u201cPhysical and sexual abuse\u2026 it\u2019s commonplace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The role of field workers like Thierry is precisely to rebuild that broken bond: \u201c[Establishing] contact with someone, hearing their life story, is a starting point toward, we hope, reconnecting with other people, community organizations, outreach workers, and other users,\u201d the psychologist continues.<\/p>\n
A role that is necessary but comes with its share of consequences. Thierry was not spared: \u201cI experienced burnout. It was in that context that I turned to M\u00e9decins du Monde. I knew about their services thanks to Pierre, who provided monthly clinical supervision to my team.\u201d<\/p>\n Thierry\u2019s work is first and foremost based on active and compassionate listening, without judgment. \u201cIt\u2019s a humanist approach where we welcome the other as they truly are, without stopping at first impressions.\u201d This stance builds enough trust for people to open up about their life journey and express the distress that comes with it. Active listening also carries a heavy emotional burden for care teams. This is compounded by exposure to verbal, and sometimes physical, violence, which is common in social work.<\/p>\n Is it possible to care for marginalized people without being affected? Pierre is clear: \u201cIt\u2019s inevitable. [\u2026] We are affected by the traumas that people carry within them.\u201d The consequences can be severe for outreach workers. Burnout and compassion fatigue sometimes lead to changes in service or even career reorientation. It is to prevent this exhaustion and support outreach workers in managing the emotional toll of their work that M\u00e9decins du Monde has set up support services for them.<\/p>\n Thierry went through that. After several years on the front lines distributing safe supplies, the outreach worker decided to move into a role he considers more positive. He explains simply: \u201cI did that for too many years, and in a way, it wore something out in me.\u201d Now, Thierry provides support to the same populations as before, but for paid social engagement.<\/p>\n As Pierre and Thierry discuss their journeys, the necessity becomes clear: this space for dialogue between psychologists and intervention teams is essential. For the latter, it serves as a release valve through which they can \u201creconnect with their inner world and [\u2026] let go of some of the things seen or heard\u201d in their work. It is what enables them to continue building connections with people excluded by the healthcare system. Without ever judging them.<\/p>\n