As one of only five female therapists in the northeastern Afghan province of Kapisa, Farkhunda Shahab struggles to soothe the anguished.
With her baby daughter perched on her lap, Ms. Shahab listened to the problems of women facing abusive husbands and economic hardship, or of young girls mourning a father long after his death.
With little formal training, women like Ms. Shahab have nonetheless become the front line in trying to improve mental health care in this part of Kapisa, a rural area marked by war, first between Afghan insurgents and Soviet occupiers, and later between the Taliban and the government they toppled.
Ms. Shahab cares for dozens of patients, many of whom must endure long journeys to see her. She does not dispense medication; instead, she listens to their complaints, asks questions, leads them in meditation exercises and offers advice on ways to change their habits in life to feel better.
[For more of this story, written by Mujib Mashal, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07...d-medicine.html?_r=0]
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