Children are back at school and shops and markets are open again. Three months after two earthquakes hit Van province, eastern Turkey, survivors are trying to get back to normality. But most people are still living in tents or metal containers, and it is difficult for them to recover from their traumatic experiences.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in collaboration with the Turkish organization Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (hCa), is helping people to cope through a mental health program.

“People have the normal stress reaction: nightmares, loss of appetite, sleep problems or even insomnia. They feel helpless, they are afraid to die, some cannot even recognize their village,” says Maria Palha, an MSF psychologist working in Van. “First they were reluctant to come to our mental he...

More...