Throughout the more than 190 group therapy sessions "The Family: People Helping People Program" held since it received a research grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation in October 2013, to study its effectiveness, researchers have found that violence and grief were the two most resounding themes of Family discussions.
"The Family represents a microcosm of the entire country," Director of Research for the Family, Keva Bethell, said during a recent presentation on the program, entitled "Overt Themes Synopsis". "As such, it can be deduced that violence, and the grief associated with it, are two pertinent issues wreaking havoc in our society," she said.
Bethell added that people are sad about losing their loved ones to violence.
"If they're not provided the space and time needed to grieve, the sadness is repressed, and can later present itself as anger," she said. "Anger can cause people to go into a rage."
Founder of "The Family: People Helping People Program" Dr. David Allen, said that Family group sessions have centered on a number of various themes. However, it was observed that the following eight major themes seemed to be recurring -- suicide and depression; abuse -- sexual, physical, emotional and abuse via neglect; trauma; addiction; violence; economic hardship; infidelity and domestic violence and overcoming grief.
"After each session is conducted, the therapist or therapist facilitator writes a praxis that reviews the discussions during the sessions, the overt and covert themes of the discussion and a reflection," said Dr. Allen. "In an effort to plot the incidence of the eight major themes, all the praxis from the group sessions was reviewed. Each time one of the major themes appeared as an overt theme, the incidence was recorded."
Bethell said that violence and grief were the two most popular themes of Family sessions (16 percent and 15 percent, respectively). These were followed by abuse (10 percent), and suicide and depression (seven percent), trauma (five percent), addiction (four percent). Infidelity and domestic violence (four percent) were almost equally represented.
"Although it is undoubtedly an underlying issue, economic hardship was discussed the least amount of times during the sessions (one percent)," she pointed out. "Other themes such as anger, shame and forgiveness accounted for 38 percent of the discussions."
Bethell said that it is of note that abuse is the third most talked about issue in the sessions.
"Abuse victims are often left traumatized and depressed. Their lives are never the same, as it takes great pain, effort and time to put together the broken pieces of their life," said Bethell.
Dr. Allen added: "If trauma is not dealt with, life may go on; but a traumatized person can spend the rest of their life moving backwards -- in other words, looking back at the traumatic event, even though time is moving forward.
"Trying to move forward in life while facing backwards makes for a poor quality of life."
Despite the fact that free and confidential Family sessions are held in some of the most fragmented communities in the Bahamas -- such as Bain Town, Fox Hill and Kemp Road, economic hardship was the least talked about theme, the researchers pointed out.
"From this finding, one can conclude that people are not so much concerned with discussing their circumstances -- such as joblessness -- as they are their experiences, such as surviving a gunshot wound to the face," Bethell said. "As such, it is important that a space, such as The Family, be provided to allow people to work through their hurt and pain, under the guidance of trained therapists."
Dr. Allen said that offering the services free of charge proves to the "broken people of our Bahamian society" that someone still cares.
"As we continue to take a look into the shadows, the very moral fabric of our nation, it is important that we stand with people in their pain, and in so doing, form a communitas, that is, an environment in which we all care for each other equally," he said. "It is what the Africans call 'obuntu', which means that we all need each other, that is, 'Because you are, I am'."

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