Mental suffering of the homeless / Souffrance psychique des sans-abri: Vivre ou survivre

Who has never felt uncomfortable in front of a homeless person lying on the sidewalk? However, every day, stories of life and survival are played out in the street. Who are those who end up there? What are their backgrounds? What are the risk factors that can lead to exclusion? How can we treat psychological suffering in such situations? Alain Mercuel, a doctor and psychiatrist working in the field with the homeless, takes us to meet these ""inhabitants of nowhere"", close to those we do not want to see. A salutary testimony to change our perspective, understand the challenges of psychological care on the street and rethink a bond that can be forged even with the most broken, the most excluded, the most weakened by their disorders. Alain Mercuel is a psychiatrist, head of department at Sainte-Anne hospital in Paris. He heads a unit providing access to psychiatric care for the most excluded: the SMES (mental health and social exclusion).