The story of a therapeutic experience with paper mache initiated in a Geneva shelter and which ended up "outside the walls", illustrating how another psychiatry is possible.
"This book illustrates how another psychiatry is possible. It is about an encounter. It tells a story that begins in a psychiatric institution and ends 'outside the walls'. I was working at the Dracar centre in Geneva. He was a resident there. In this establishment we were inspired by institutional psychotherapy in our practice. To enter into a relationship through movement, through art for example. It was around paper mache that we met. Then, after a period of work and an exhibition, he left the Dracar and so did I. We continued our therapeutic work with paper mache. Since the beginning of this work I have been taking notes. These are the starting point of this book which was our last common step of therapeutic work."
Lola Nadel
Limited edition of 150 copies.
"I am a 32 year old woman, of French nationality, who emigrated to Switzerland at the age of 20, by choice. My daily life revolves around living in a community and the various collective activities that result from it: vegetable garden, meetings, organisation of cultural events, cooking, recycling, workcamps, associative links. A speech therapist by profession, my passion remains psychiatry and, more generally, everything related to madness. Since 2010, I am part of an association and we have a workshop called La Reliure (an old bookbinding factory). In 2014 and 2017, we organised a festival there around art, norms and madness.
I worked at the Dracar centre in Geneva from November 2015 to February 2019. I was a psychosocial facilitator. During this period I had two children, which changed my life. Art, creation and crafts accompany me in life and in my work at Dracar. It seemed natural to me, afterwards, to turn to the diversion of matter as a means of communication with
Christian."
Lola Nadel
"Originally from Geneva, I studied in Geneva and Lausanne. I obtained a degree in environmental science in 1994. I am divorced and have an 18 year old daughter who still lives with her mother. I see her once a week for a meal that my mother takes the time to prepare. Otherwise, I am on good terms with my ex-wife whom I continue to see regularly. I am currently working in a printing company where I have various responsibilities regarding the copying of documents. Previously, I was a web designer and worked quite a bit in the IT environment, particularly in digital mapping. A few years ago, I had problems with my moods being too high and putting me a bit out of touch with reality. Now, thanks to regular work and a medication that I take every fortnight, I can live normally. The only worry is that it makes me fat. In 2016, and for a year and a half, I stayed at the Dracar, a shelter for people with psychological or simply personal difficulties. This followed a two-month stay in the Belle-Idée psychiatric clinic where I was received after a period of wandering that had lasted two years. I had left my job in a hurry and had become quite irritable with periods of high and other periods of delirium. I had lost contact with society. But fortunately, at Dracar, I meet new people in a protected and relaxed environment. I regained hope and, with the help of a social worker, I found a professional activity in the Trajets foundation. This helps me a lot to find a stable and satisfying life."
Christian Blumer
