thirteen-year-old ahmed is a syrian refugee living in jordan's azzatri camp he has a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by witnessing the war in syria now he has to attend individual counseling sessions with a psychologist to treat his aggressive behavior and anger for patient confidentiality reasons we can't show ahmed's face his father was shot in front of him in daraa and then died in hospital and if that's not enough his mother suffers from gum cancer i used to get so angry the psychologist taught me how to breathe deeply and then release my anger quietly
and respectfully she taught me a lot of things less severe cases go to support groups with a psychologist here these teenage girls are talking through their negative feelings and learning how to adapt to what could be an unsafe camp maryam says her sadness became worse after having to live in a plastic tent the sessions teach us to avoid getting very upset and sad and to be resilient and withstand tough times we learnt a lot i feel like i am talking with my sisters i also prefer sharing my feelings with strangers to people i know psychologists
say it's crucial for children to express their feelings in order to get better some of the kids painted this mural to illustrate what they went through it shows a chronological sequence of violence killing fleeing and the struggle in a refugee camp aid agencies say armed conflicts often cause trauma for children and change the way they perceive themselves and the world all the children receiving psychological services here have been clinically diagnosed and found to suffer either from anger depression or aggressive behavior anxiety is another disorder the children here suffer but not all illnesses are easy to
spot some mental illnesses have less noticeable symptoms than others a boy's violent and aggressive behaviour may be clear but a quiet girl who acts normal but sits alone may be suffering from severe depression for ahmad the counseling is helping control his temper and aggressive behavior but war doesn't only traumatize children this mental health clinic waiting area is filled with adults an indication that the war has harmed syrians of all ages al-jazeera a zatri camp
