The magnitude of the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela has been absolutely devastating. The entire society faces a profound experience of pain and irreplaceable loss. Especially, those who lost direct family members suffer an incalculable emotional impact. Added to this, seeing our beloved territory destroyed increases the strong collective grief. Evidently, this immense catastrophe triggers a human tragedy and trauma without historical precedents. However, a large part of society has reacted very positively. Many have collaborated uniformly to help all affected survivors. Furthermore, this shared pain inspires beautiful global initiatives for urgent humanitarian aid.
On the other hand, this collective empathy also manifested in many Venezuelans abroad. For example, my own daughter experienced what happened with deep translocal anguish. She felt acute helplessness due to the great physical distance and digital hypervigilance. Likewise, the mother of a patient in Chile felt strong survivor’s guilt. She suffers for having the privilege of living while her acquaintances passed away. Meanwhile, rescuers, doctors, and volunteers face a high daily psychological risk. Certainly, their constant exposure to corpses and survivors intensifies the human tragedy and trauma.
Therefore, professionals from various disciplines actively accompany this difficult grieving process. We use different protocols, methodologies, and specialized clinical techniques for each case. Essentially, therapeutic accompaniment requires deeply understanding this devastating event. Furthermore, we must carefully analyze the diverse ways each person reacts. It is also vital to discuss how to assimilate what happened to continue living with dignity. Consequently, we help the patient live peacefully with the painful memory of the event. Finally, we observe and support the way each person transforms their own emotional pain.
Pedro’s Case
Clinical experiences are diverse and highly moving after the recent natural catastrophe. A clear clinical example is the case of Pedro, one of my 14-year-old patients. Unfortunately, he lost his biological father during the severe earthquakes in La Guaira. In therapy, he shared that at first, he did not understand what was really happening. Then, he confessed to feeling a deep and paralyzing fear of dying. Although he mourns the death, Pedro suffers heavily from the previous paternal absence. He constantly wondered why his father had abandoned them. Now, he grieves never being able to get that direct answer from his dad.
In this way, two different griefs afflict Pedro in a cumulative and painful way. First, he suffers the emotional wound from paternal abandonment that we were already working on. Second, he faces the tragic physical death of that same absent father. Additionally, this human tragedy and trauma is greatly complicated by his immediate family environment. Pedro reports not knowing what to do when seeing his mother cry inconsolably every day. Interestingly, his mom is going through a very complex grief for this deceased ex-husband. She claims to have always loved him, despite the unresolved pain from past infidelities.
As happens with most teenagers, Pedro tends to fluctuate emotionally without warning. He swings sharply between profound sadness and intense anger over the double abandonment. Furthermore, he feels a lot of fear that another seismic event will occur soon. At the same time, he experiences great frustration towards his own mother’s depressive reactions. Consequently, he uses apparent indifference as a vital compensation mechanism. Thus, he tries to emotionally survive this immense and overwhelming human tragedy and trauma. Fortunately, therapy provides him with a safe space to process all this enormous affective load.
Music Therapy to Transform Human Tragedy and Trauma
In the first instance, it has been very useful to talk openly with Pedro. We discussed in detail his constant hypervigilance and his intense fear of future tremors. We also addressed his mixed feelings regarding this painful double paternal abandonment. Furthermore, we carefully analyzed his sudden mood swings and recent behavioral changes at home. Together, we understood what he feels towards his mother’s depression and how it affects him. In this way, we carefully evaluated how he assimilates and transforms his emotional pain. Certainly, naming his emotions has been a great first step towards true inner healing.
In the second instance, we applied a creative clinical approach for his comprehensive psychological treatment. This professional approach goes far beyond the standardized phases of traditional grief. We perfectly understand that Pedro experiences his pain in a very fluctuating, non-linear way. Therefore, we implemented the powerful method of receptive music therapy with excellent therapeutic results. Specifically, we read and discuss together song lyrics that strongly resonate with his loss. Through this wonderful artistic resource, Pedro manages to shape the human tragedy and trauma creatively.
So far, discussing these songs has allowed him to express himself emotionally with great freedom. Moreover, he manages to regulate his altered nervous system and effectively decrease his hypervigilance. In reality, this methodology facilitates genuine expression when words and reason fall short. The selected songs help him healthily contain a life experience that completely overwhelms him. Despite his enormous pain, Pedro really enjoys listening to music and sharing it during sessions. For now, it is our job to accompany him patiently. We will closely observe his post-traumatic growth through these valuable resources and creative changes.
