I was glad to get
confirmation about the possibility of curing insanity, at least the paranoid
type. Unlike the disorganized ones, paranoids still retain their cognitive
processes intact. And this is enough despite the distinct difficulties dealing
with them.
Aside from paranoid, I
have been fascinated with this ‘another side of intelligence’ since my
childhood. Abnormality seems to play its games of cognition in the subjective (plural)
worlds they could fully make sense.
What was it in their
mind, I wondered, when seeing the man I always saw singing in the market back in
my childhood? My mother never failed to give some pennies to him whose wits, in
a child’s perception, had been reduced to mere instincts. I frequently
questioned my mom’s intention stating that the man could not even count from 1
to 10! She unwaveringly insisted that he would be guided by physical
necessities as to how to use the money. “That is the only reason why he always
waits for us at the gate”, she explained happily.
Was it a kind of ‘special
motherly’ treatment?
Few days ago, seeing a
homeless crazy man sitting at the corner of our building, such a sad sight, I
took out some coins telling him to buy some bread. He just looked at me
confused. Realizing the absurdity of my action, I made a gesture of eating.
Immediately he picked on the signal, stood up ignoring the money and followed
me growling. I was embarrassed as people started to giggle. It dawned on me
that he believed I would be giving him something to eat, not money to buy some
food.
What is craziness and what is so-called science of the mind, I wondered
loudly.
This recent experience
with schizophrenia brought back the old fascination once again. But this time,
it is a psychologist’s perspective. Repeated encounters have made me believe
the impression that we can still have communication with them. The mind is still capable of comprehending the presence of others and others’ intention
towards them.
These two qualities are
very crucial for a therapeutic relationship. Surely we cannot expect these
people to work the way ‘better’ clients do. But the question is if these very
basic requirements, as instinctual as they are, can possibly contribute to help
crack the process of treatment and the betterment of their cognitive process,
and accordingly, cognitive rehabilitation.
I think this is the
only reason why the open treatment facilities run by an Islam ulama in one of
the cities of Indonesia have accumulated many successful stories. The rationale
behind their treatment programs is that craziness is likely the combined
effects of personal-social factors. Ironically, the society holds strong biases
against insanity and even enables discriminatory treatments toward the
disadvantaged group. Children ridiculing the crazy is one example. Another one
is the superstitious beliefs about the causes of the disease. Even sometimes,
people associate it with a curse, a karmic consequence of the accumulated
wrongdoings by the predecessors.
To remedy what is seen
as lacking in the ward-based treatment, the religious leader urges the people
living nearby the open treatment facilities to take part in the process of
therapy. Children are taught to treat the patients with respect. Families of
the clients and the villagers are encouraged to take an active participation in
the process of bringing back the positive memories and let the clients know
that they are openly welcome. The key is not to think of the patients as
hopeless but those whose rights to more fulfilling life can be made possible
through mutual relationship and systematic reintegration.
Recovery, either
partially or fully, is not a wishful thinking!
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