Crises traumatiques collectives d'ihahamuka lors des commémorations du génocide des Tutsi : aspects cliniques et perspectives thérapeutiques

In Rwanda, the annual commemorations of the genocide are associated with an increase of collective traumatic crisis whereby many people participating in commemoration activities present various symptoms, including emotional distress and re-experiencing traumatic events of 1994 genocide. These crises can affect hundreds of people at big commemoration events and are accompanied by a degree of urgency that disturbs the whole assembly. To the best of our knowledge, any study has examined this phenomenon in Rwanda. This thesis dissertation a) analyzes clinically these crises and documents one of the common clinical features of post-genocide trauma in Rwanda, b) explore the lived experience of people affected by these crises, c) depicts the content and the evolution of an emergency intervention generated by this situation during the last decade and d) finally present the results of a study on the effects of a supportive-expression group intervention in the post-crisis period for people who experienced these collective traumatic crises conducted in district hospital in Rwanda. The study compares the therapeutic progress made by a group of people who have benefited from the supportive-expression group intervention as compared to those who did not receive the intervention. The study suggests that the supportive group intervention can improve the overall psychological well-being of people who experienced collective traumatic crisis even though it was ineffective for some symptoms.