Le temps d’une chanson : abord médiatisé de la blessure de guerre en thérapie de groupe

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorders are a major concern for the armed forces. Certain pathognomonic symptoms of psychological trauma are expressed by isolation and avoidance behavior that are antithetical to the principle of group unity and cohesion that is so fundamental in the military. The Robert Picqué military hospital is located in the heart of a region where many operational regiments are stationed. For the past 20 years, the French army has been deployed in different countries at war, on foreign missions or OPEX (Afghanistan, Lybia, Mali) and interior operations or OPINT. The Robert Picqué psychiatric department has adapted its clinical activity to admit and treat the many soldiers who have been injured and has developed a multidisciplinary and integrative approach, which includes group therapy, to treat PTSD. In this context, the combination of two health professionals, one an occupational therapist and the other a psychomotor therapist, has resulted in the creation of an original therapeutic approach using musical and creative mediation in group activities. The benefits of therapeutic synergy help to build a framework for free expression and includes the use of songs and personal creative exercises using a variety of media. From the patients’ artistic creations, their drawings and writing, we can see how this double mediation favors social bonding and makes it possible to understand the personal, family, and professional repercussions of PTSD. Thus, the time of a song provides the patients with a space of relief, of security and the development of a collective elaboration of their suffering.