One Year After Assad’s Fall: Syrians Grapple With Trauma, Healing, and the Long Road to Recovery

A year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, many Syrians say the war may have ended politically, but its psychological wounds remain painfully present.

For Amira, a 38-year-old mother of five who spent a year in Adra Prison, the regime’s collapse brought mixed emotions. Watching detainees walk free reminded her of her own imprisonment—a period marked by physical and verbal abuse that she never spoke about for years. As stories of torture and rape circulated online after prisons were opened, assumptions about her experience triggered a decline in her mental well-being.

For the first time since her release in 2016, Amira sought help. She contacted the Association of Missing Persons and Detainees in Sednayah Prison, which connected her to a newly opened clinic run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Damascus. There, she joined therapy sessions and survivor support groups.

“Talking makes me feel lighter,” she said quietly. “I finally feel safe.”

A Growing Demand for Mental Health Support

Her psychologist, Rand Nadar, says many Syrians released years ago avoided speaking out due to fear and stigma. Now, with the dictatorship gone, survivors are beginning to seek care—often in secret, given the cultural stigma surrounding mental health.

According to MSF, thousands of Syrians who passed through detention centers continue to struggle with trauma. Yet the true number is much higher: more than 177,000 people remain forcibly disappeared, and nearly every Syrian has endured displacement, bombardment, hunger, or loss of loved ones.

Conflict zones consistently show increased levels of depression and anxiety, UN health agencies warn, but Syria’s fragile healthcare system lacks the capacity for broad mental health support.

A Nation Still Searching for Its Missing

While some parts of Syria enjoy relative calm, political violence persists, especially toward groups linked to the former regime. Tens of thousands fled earlier this year following sectarian reprisals in several regions.

Dr. Jalal Nofal, a psychiatrist who returned to Syria this year and now heads the mental health team at the National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP), says psychological recovery is inseparable from the search for the disappeared.

The NCMP, formed last May, has been tasked with identifying the fate of tens of thousands of missing Syrians. Families, however, express disappointment with the slow progress and lack of resources. Nofal acknowledges the frustrations but says the scale of the crisis demands patience.

“We are working with people experiencing ambiguous loss—a wound that never fully closes,” he said. “Millions are affected, not just families, but entire communities.”

Survivors at the Center of Justice Efforts

Human rights organizations stress that survivors must play a key role in shaping Syria’s transitional justice process. Ta’afi, a survivor-led group supporting victims of detention and enforced disappearance, says it is vital to keep conversations about accountability alive.

“We cannot afford to bury these issues,” said co-founder Ahmed Helmi.

Reclaiming Strength, Rebuilding Lives

As for Amira, she is rebuilding her life. She left her husband’s pro-Assad family, became a teacher, and is now raising her five children alone. She says she has moved from silence to strength.

“People treated me like I was only a victim,” she said. “But today, I’m a fighter.”

While she remains concerned that many former detainees still lack psychological, social, and financial support, she now speaks on her own terms.

By: Abdiaziz A. Mohamed
Editor-in-Chief & News Writer, SNN