Albania has a problem with mental health. Generations of trauma, patriarchal toxicity, and a severely underfunded mental health service lead to a situation where many do not seek treatment or even realise they could benefit from help. Add this to other pervasive issues such as the stigma around mental health conditions, poverty, and corruption, and there is a melting pot which often spills over into horrific events that make the front pages of the news for all the wrong reasons.
But some people are trying to make things better. One of these is Sonila Sejdaras, an Albanian clinical psychologist living in the United States who is at the top of her game but is making sure she gives back to her home country.
Sonila was born in the southeastern city of Korce during a tumultuous time in Albania’s history. During our interview, she explained that her life was split into three sections; life during communism, the transition, and her life in the US.
She entered her teens as the communist regime fell, and the country entered a decade of chaos, violence, and political difficulties that brought it to the brink of civil war in 1997. Sonila describes this time as a significant trauma, something Albanians still carry today and continue to pass on to younger generations.
“My parents would be like, go behind the couch if someone comes to get you, because it was a time where they would just come and take young women to traffic them, and you just think, ‘oh, this is what it is’,” she explains.
As bullets whizzed and armed gangs roamed the streets, the young Sonila nurtured an interest in psychology and understanding how people work and why they feel as they do.
When asked whether this desire to understand and help people with their mental health comes from watching the trauma inflicted on Albanian society and being powerless to resist, she agrees it played a part.
“There was a feeling of helplessness. There was no possibility to change anything,” she explains.
Fast forward to the third section of her life, and Sonila is living her childhood dream. She lives in Chicago with her family and runs a private practice focusing on anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, complex trauma, addiction, and couple’s therapy. Through her own admission, but modestly, she explains she is well known and successful in her field and proud of what she has achieved.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. She takes care to explain that landing in the US as an immigrant from Albania was not easy- the wish to pursue her chosen field, combined with learning and bettering a new language while supporting herself- but she persevered.
“It was really hard as I came in as an immigrant. I did all the work as an immigrant, just working two or three jobs, cleaning houses, babysitting, working at a restaurant and then going to school to learn English. I kept my head down, did my work, and managed to finish as a clinical social worker.”
“I came with no documentation and $300 in my pocket and had to adjust, assimilate and integrate,” she said.
She started by working in inner-city Detroit in rough neighbourhoods. “I connected well with that. I worked with trauma, substance abuse, inpatient and outpatient, and more.”
After years of work, she was finally in a position to open her own private practice. “I work with high functioning, intelligent people in all professions that suffer in silence. I draw on all this knowledge on where I come from, then the mental health education I have, and my own intuition. I like to pick up on the person’s story and see it as an umbrella rather than just a medical diagnosis.”
“I believe that you have to change the narrative for yourself,” she adds.
As her practice became established, Sonila decided it was time to turn her attention back to Albania.
And this is where Care for Albania came from. Sonila started the US-registered NGO with the idea to benefit children, families, and the elderly, both in the US and in Albania as well. Currently, the organisation is focused on assisting the House of Flowers orphanage in Korce.
This assistance comes in many forms, including financial aid and support, empowerment, and of course, mental health support with trauma and other related conditions. Sonila is clear she believes in the mission of the orphanage, which helps children with their spiritual, societal, emotional and cultural development. In turn, Care for Albania helps through charitable giving.
Sonila has even set up an Amazon Wish List where kind donors can choose items to buy that will be sent to the children at the orphanage. They include baby carriers, car seats, weighted blankets, baby toiletries, vitamins, and developmentally appropriate electronic devices.
A 2020 interview with staff at the centre spoke of the team’s close bond with the children.
“Children are angels, and the smallest thing about them touches us. When we do activities, they stay very close to us even though they have us there 24 hours a day. We are very close to the children, and they consider us as mothers,” one explained.
“We are like a family even though we have left our family members outside. As we have our families outside these walls, we also have children here.”
But like many other aspects of Albanian society, the centre struggles with funding. The centre is home to around 20 children from three months to six years old. While the staff do everything they can, there are still challenges in getting the emotional and psychological needs of the children met.
This issue is pervasive throughout Albania. With just 1.3 psychiatrists per 100,000 people and shrinking funding for the state healthcare system amid an ongoing pandemic, those requiring assistance often encounter obstacles. Those that can afford it go private, abroad, or online, depending on the care they need; others rely on crowdfunding or simply suffer.
“Everyone [in Albania] is driven by anxiety and rushing. So many people sit in coffee shops thinking they are drinking coffee and relaxing. But no, you are sitting down listening to other people’s problems, drinking coffee which is the opposite of relaxing, and you are not being active to remove some of the issues you face. You are running for more money, more time, so you can buy more things,” she said.
Sonila continues, “Listen to your body and attend to it through simple things like deep breathing through your belly. Don’t breathe through your chest, which you do when you are tense. But when I come to Albania, I don’t see anyone attending to that or even being aware of it.
As for the pace of development in the psychology sector in Albania, Sonila has hope. She explains that psychology is a relatively new field that started in 2000. While demand is high, a lot of stigmas remain that she says can be combated by people talking about it.
”I want to help as many people as possible through speaking publicly in terms of how mental health, trauma, and addition affect all of us, including the high functioning individuals that present well from the outside but are messy from the inside.”
She continues that mental health services need to be improved and made more accessible, including helping professionals to understand trauma and how to approach it.
“Eventually, I would like to teach mental health professionals how to be public speakers and advocates on these matters both locally and internationally.”
Sonia also wants to help by raising her voice on the issue and helping people with practical measures. “Right now, a lot of people are dying of heart attacks which are directly related to stress. A lot have anxiety, which is directly related to stress. What is this about?”
“That’s when you start taking some small steps,” she adds. “I want to provide my knowledge and leave a legacy that people can contribute to.”
You can support Care for Albania or contact them for assistance here.
