PEER SUPPORT GROUPS
(Photo by Mohammed Ridwan)
Most of my work in past years has been to address the spiritual mental health needs of my readers. Through my writings, I’ve tried to encourage those dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, and any other problems individuals might be dealing with.
Most of us experience some form of mental health difficulties at times. The world is not an easy place to live. But can you imagine what it must be like to be a Rohingya refugee living in an overcrowded impoverished camp of over a million people in Bangladesh?
Can you imagine being a refugee—perhaps since 1992, 2012, 2017, or 2024? All are struggling in various traumatized states, from running for their lives to escape genocide, and having lost loved ones.
They live like prisoners with no hope for a normal life. No right to work, no structured education, no freedom of movement, and little hope.
There is an urgent need for mental health support and psychosocial care. Access to professional mental health services is extremely limited.
Many of you know about the Living Room/Open Door groups founded. I believe these would be an excellent way to bring mental health support to Rohingya. When you use the devotionals provided in the webpage below, you will be encouraging members in their faith as well—an important part of being mentally healthy.
I encourage you—especially Rohingya—to consider starting a group in your neighborhood. A group of ten Rohingya women has already been meeting weekly and are enthused about it.
For guidance, go to https://marjabergen.com/support-groups. You will find the most important material in the sections marked “devotionals.” There are devotionals to use for group discussion and devotionals for personal use. Select what you would like to use, download, and go to your download folder to open.
I hope and pray that some of you reading this will be inspired to start a group of your own. You’ll be surprised at how healing it will be for your members!
marja
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