We are 3 Master's Degree students in Psychology at the University of Brussels. As part of our graduate program, we want to complete an internship aboard.

Manon (on the left), 26 years old, French student, is doing a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology:

"I've been involved in various associations for a while now and in which I already had the opportunity to do some volunteer projects in Costa Rica (ecology based project) as well as in Vietnam (humanitarian project). My clinical approach is principally influenced by the ethno-psychiatric current and is based on transculturalism as well as positive psychology concepts."

Sabri (on the right), 23 years old, Belgian student, is doing a Master's Degree in Social and Intercultural Psychology :

"I already had the opportunity to travel to Togo twice. I've also lived in different countries which has awaken a curiosity about cultures and their fonctions along the years. This is also the main reason why my psychological approach focuses on group dynamics in intercultural contact as well as the articulation between the "Self" (I) and the "We" (us)."

Tamara (in the middle), 26 years old, Luxembourgish student (born in Venezuela, comes from Portugal and Spain too) is doing a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology:

"As a world child, I have always privileged a sharing between cultural realities. As Manon, I've been involved in different NGO's during the last few years which gave me the opportunity to travel to Argentina or even to work in the Luxembourgish Red Cross for humanitarian projects. This is also the vision that I take with me regarding to my studies; a vision where there is not only ONE truth but as many truths as there are human beings."

As you see, our interest for human, social and psychological aspects always played an important part in our lives. This is also why we started our studies in Psychology !

What will we accomplish?

As part of our Master's Degree, more specifically our last year before graduated, we took the decision to complete a development cooperative project in Togo. This project will be expanded during a period of 4 months.

The principles objectives of this project are:

- developing a scientific curiosity in Togo ;

- to create a partnership between our University (http://www.ulb.ac.be/) and the NGO "UJPOD" (http://www.ongujpod.org/) ;

- to accomplish scientific researches as part of our thesis ;

- to explore health care from another point of view : as a country that has its own representations about mental health as well as medical and health treatments ;

- to observe at which point our occidental vision is present and to privilege the creation of bridges between two different perspectives about mental care ;

- to create scientific researches that will lead to future projects in the NGO "UJPOD".

More specifically...

Manon will realise a quantitative research about the impact of beliefs in our resilience capability. This research will be manifested through different tests based on psychological questionnaires, which will be passed to patients in the mental health institution "Paul Louis René" in Lomé. The main objective is to gain a better comprehension about the needs of mental care in a foreign country as well as the question on how, in a therapeutical relationship, the culture and personal beliefs of each person are articulated.

Sabri will work on social representations of what we call "insanity". This qualitative research will be based on individual interviews that he will give to different health professionals (nurses, doctors, psychologists) in order to perceive different aspects of traditional and modern speech. The main objective of this research is to bring us to an understanding about the confrontation of different representations and that will lead us to reflect on the failures of cooperative projects.

Tamara will participate on different projects that focus on the promotion of mental health and sexuality in Togolese population. She will be working together with a Togolese psychologist in a mother-child dispensary as well as visiting different schools in Togo. The principle goal is, in one hand, to understand the Togolese vision about mental health but also and more specifically about sexuality in order to create programs, or activities like individual interviews or support groups that will give us their vision in its most natural way. Based on this, we want to come to a cultural exchange about perspectives were we can hopefully co-create a better future regarding to health prevention.

But also...

Even if we can distinguish our works, we want to leave and travel from the same point of view or let us say, state of mind: the discovery, the hospitality of a different culture in a developing country. The objective is not to teach them how to live nor how to see the world but to learn through them, with them while being in a inconditionnel exchange and respect of each and everyone of us.

To Go to Togo !

The publications