The staff at the psychiatric hospital were not used to seeing a bright(blue)-eyed and bushy-(blonde)tailed volunteer wandering the clinic. In fact, they were not used to seeing a volunteer. Period.
Most of the time, people confused me with a student completing a study-abroad program. Trying to explain the concept of a volunteer in French was easy enough, but trying to explain why I was volunteering often got lost in translation.
“Why Morocco?”
“Why this center?”
“Are you a psychiatrist?”
“So you are a student of psychiatry?”
It took me forever to figure out the term for a research psychologist, and I’m still not sure the meaning came across exactly the way I intended. Research psychology is not often considered a career, jugging by the conversations I had with local psychology students. Moroccan psychologists and psychiatrists do research, but most are first-and-foremost practitioners.
Despite the confusion, I was greeted with open arms and true Moroccan hospitality.
First, I was introduced to the director of the hospital, Dr. Jallal Toufiq. Together, we discussed my qualifications and brainstormed how I could make the biggest impact at Hôpital Ar-Razi. With eight different units providing care to all ages and disabilities, the possibilities were only limited by my lack of licensure.
Ultimately, we decided I would be best suited to work as an activities coordinator in the Center for Geriatric Care. Despite the name this center actually provided two services:
Care for older adults with physical or cognitive impairments
Care for stable adults who have a mental health diagnosis (but are not currently hospitalized)
The one-year-old center had impressively modern facilities. This was not a falling down shack crowded with sick people and equipped only with a hole in the ground that served as the toilet. I did see this in Morocco, but not at Hospital Ar-Razi. The Center for Geriatric Care was a picture of sparkling newness, cutting-edge modernity and patient engagement. It was a self-contained oasis for the patients who came, complete with a full nursing team, a physical therapy specialist and an esthetician.
It was here where I developed a curriculum of alternative therapy activities—that is, activities that do not require clinical therapy or medication. With little to no precedent for volunteers, I had to create my own unique experience—an exciting task that introduced me to new challenges and occasional moments of frustration.
These frustrations (such as struggling to understand conversations in Arabic, answering questions about my religious beliefs and adjusting to a laissez-faire approach to work) were greatly outnumbered by the happy triumphs I experienced every day. Triumphs—as small as finally figuring out where the paper was stored or as big as watching a schizophrenic patient resolve his catatonic symptoms—reminded me why I embarked on this journey.