Hospital Connections enabled me to meet a person from the Tibetan government

Two weeks before I came to VIMHANS, a team of 12 Tibetan nurses, counselors and administrators who work for the Tibetan Department of Health, came for a training workshop to the hospital. The chair of that department lives in Dharamshala. This is where I am staying so one of the doctors suggested to get me in touch with him so he can show me around and tell me about his work. The doctor called him, told him about me and he was pleased to show me around. 

About two weeks ago, I finally met him for the first time. I found out that he is mainly responsible for Tibetan torture victims in exile. In his office, it is only him plus two other staff of who only one is a counselor. He and the other non-counselor lady take care of the administrative things because they don’t have any deeper knowledge of mental health. But because there are many people needing help and only one counselor is available, they often provide counseling without having any greater knowledge of mental health. Therefore, they mainly focus on well meant advice, which is better than nothing. People they deal with suffer from anxiety disorders, substance abuse issues and PTSD. Even though some counseling is provided, it is mostly money that the Tibetan Department of Health gives. If people want they can seek outside assistance and the Tibetan Department of Health reimburses them for it. 

 

Most people working for the Tibetans Government in general are Tibetans which makes a lot of sense but at the same time it is very different than what I saw at Don Bosco. Since Don Bosco serves refugees from many different countries it is often difficult to accommodate them with people from their own country. However, people working for Don Bosco told me that the refugees often prefer outsiders anyway because then they don’t have to be afraid of being stigmatized in their own community. Tibetans might be different in that sense.

Since the chair of that department is sometimes providing counseling himself to the Tibetans, I asked him what he thinks about meditation as a form of counseling. He said that he is so busy that he doesn’t have time for meditation himself so he really doesn’t know anything about it to use it as a tool. In addition, the counseling sessions are too short to really get into meditation. His answer made me think about who would use meditation as a therapeutic tool if not people here. Obviously, refugees or Tibetans in exile have undergone a lot of difficult life circumstances and they are still living a life in which receiving help and assistance is not always easy and meditation or yoga takes time, money and the right therapist. Those kinds of therapies seem to be fancy and only accessible to a few. This is the same I saw at VIMHANS. A lot of people, in particular the poor, come in for one consultation, get drugs prescribed and maybe never come back unless for more medication. It is not about getting healed but rather to suppress the symptoms to an extent to which they can function enough to make money and take care of their families. Things like meditation and yoga take time. They require a lot of support; one has to learn, progress and stick through it to see the benefits. Drugs show first effects every fast, meditation doesn’t.