Taking a History of Torture
This is a series of 7 videos that have been created by EthnoMed to help guide providers who need to take a history of torture from their patients.
June 20, 2020 · Video
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Northwest Health and Human Rights (NWHHR) Coalition
Information about a collaborative coalition that provides medical consultation, mental health and legal social services to survivors of torture in Washington State.
December 31, 2019 · Article
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Torture: Spine Injury
In this vignette the patient describes how he was tortured, his symptoms and the related back injuries he sustained.
June 29, 2016 · Video
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Caring for Torture Survivors: Warning about PTSD and Flashbacks
Short vignette that demonstrates how to warn survivors of torture about PTSD and flashbacks.
June 29, 2016 · Video
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Hearing a Political History: Death of a Child
Vignette about a refugee's terrible loss and suffering that comes with the death of his child - a form of torture itself.
June 29, 2016 · Video
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Arrest, Detention & Escape: Arrest and Confinement
This vignette captures the details and brutality of the process of torture.
June 29, 2016 · Video
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Getting a Torture History: PTSD Reactivation
Discussion about the experience of reactivation of torture PTSD because of catastrophic illness.
February 10, 2015 · Video
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Hearing the Political History: Witnessing the Torture of Others
This video discusses an example of mass torture in Cambodia under Pol Pot.
February 10, 2015 · Video
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Torture Symptoms: Catastrophic Illness
This gentleman is identifying the end stage renal disease and his need for dialysis as a trigger that reactivated his PTSD and specifically his experiences of torture 40 years earlier under the Khmer Rouge.
February 10, 2015 · Video
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Sequelae of Torture: Traumatic Brain Injury
A 40 minute video presentation by Dr. Carey Jackson about working with torture survivors. Topics include mechanisms of traumatic brain injury, symptoms of TBI, and how to assess and treat.
October 4, 2014 · Video
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Impact of Torture on Medical Care
A 27 minute video presentation by Dr. Nicole Ahrenholz about issues involved in the medical screening and treatment of victims of torture.
October 4, 2014 · Video
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Secondary Torture: Psychological Sequela and Sleep Disturbances
Oromo patient describes the psychological fallout of having experienced secondary torture - including nightmares.
March 12, 2014 · Video
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Torture Symptoms: Linking Symptoms to Mechanism of Injury
Oromo patient describes mechanisms of torture and resulting injuries.
March 12, 2014 · Video
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Secondary Torture
This Oromo patient describes her experiences witnessing torture of others in her life, which is an example of secondary torture.
March 12, 2014 · Video
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Physical and Psychological Sequelae in Refugees Who Have Survived Torture: Literature Review
A review of the literature about ramifications of physical and psychological torture in adult refugees or asylum seekers.
January 1, 2014 · Article
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Torture Symptoms: Distorted Timelines & Memory Loss
This clip illustrates how torture can impact a clear narrative of events and make it difficult for clinicians to reconstruct linear timelines.
December 5, 2013 · Video
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Arrest, Detention & Escape: Confinement
This clip illustrates a common form of torture: confinement and isolation in restricted spaces.
December 5, 2013 · Video
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Arrest, Detention & Escape: Starvation
This clip illustrates the significance of hunger on patients and their memories of torture.
December 5, 2013 · Video
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Torture Symptoms: Chronic Nightmares and Sleeplessness
This gentleman has been out of prison for 30+ years. He has never mentioned sleep difficulties as an issue nor his near nightly nightmares.
December 3, 2013 · Video
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Evaluation and Treatment of Survivors of Torture
A slideshow to help clinicians who treat victims of torture recognize the significance of a torture history, know how to record and document it, and understand how to integrate that history into medical decision making.
June 4, 2013 · PDF
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Torture: Electrical Torture
Slideshow providing information about electrical torture, prevalence among refugees, and long-term effects.
March 10, 2013 · PDF
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Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS 15) Packet
The RHS-15 is a tool for screening refugees for emotional distress and mental health. Packet includes the RHS-15 tool, background on the tool’s development, and guidelines on using the RHS-15 with recently resettled refugees.
December 19, 2012 · PDF
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Screening for Depression Among Newly Arrived Vietnamese Refugees in Primary Care Settings
Article reprinted with permission from Western Journal of Medicine. By Dedra Buchwald, MD et al. West J Med, October 1995; 163:341-345.
October 2, 1995 · Article, PDF
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Mental Health and Illness in Vietnamese Refugees
Article reprinted with permission from Western Journal of Medicine by Steven J. Gold, PhD, Whittier, CA. West J Med, Sept. 1992; 157:290-294.
September 6, 1992 · Article
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Working with Refugee Survivors of Torture
Article reprinted with permission from Western Journal of Medicine. By Barbara Chester, PhD and Neal Holton, MPH. West J Med, September 1992; 157:301-304.
September 1, 1992 · Article, PDF
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External Resources
Please also see our Related Websites page for a selected list of websites related to the populations or topics covered on EthnoMed.
- Asylum Medicine Introductory Course- Free, Online
After completing the first five mandatory modules of this course, participants will be qualified to conduct forensic medical evaluations with prominent asylum medicine organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights. - Before Obtaining Asylum, Refugees Must Show The Scars Behind The Stories - NPR
NPR story (2015) about medical providers work to verify claims of physical torture by refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. - Bhutanese Refugees Mental and Physical Health Resources - HealTorture.org
HealTorture.org is the website of the National Capacity Building Project of The Center for Victims of Torture, and is a resource center for people who are interested in healing after torture. They have provided a list of resources about caring for Bhutanese refugees. - Brain Injury - HealTorture.org
HealTorture.org is the website of the National Capacity Building Project of The Center for Victims of Torture, and is a resource center for people who are interested in healing after torture. While most of the information on the website is intended for people who are working directly with torture survivors, there is also information on the site that's more accessible to the general public, students doing research, or torture survivors themselves. They have provided a list of resources on the topic of brain injury. - Country Condition Reports and Refugee Wellness Country Guides - GCJFCS
The Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services (GCJFCS) has produced resources about 18 countries that provide practical insights and everyday applications for resettlement workers and mental health providers working with resettled refugees. The guides offer brief overviews of each country, highlighting current healthcare systems, common perceptions and responses to adverse mental health symptoms, and typical community support networks. The reports provide historical timelines, brief descriptions of common methods of torture, and synopses of current conditions and pertinent issues related to each country featured (each report has an updated timeline as of August 2015). - Credibility Assessment in Asylum Procedures - A Multidisciplinary Training Manual
This training manual (146 pages) provides a multidisciplinary learning method on credibility assessment, tailored to the needs of asylum decision-makers and other asylum professionals. It provides a framework for developing knowledge, skills and attitude through multidisciplinary learning to help asylum professionals reduce the possibility of errors, reach more objective and fair credibility findings, as well as to apply a more structured approach to credibility assessment. This publication was coordinated by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. - Depression - HealTorture.org
HealTorture.org is a community website that both supports, and is supported by, people who work in torture treatment centers. The information is intended for people who are working directly with torture survivors. There is also information on the site that's more accessible to the general public, students doing research, or torture survivors themselves. This link goes to the website’s search results for resources on the topic of depression. - Forensic Evaluation of Asylum Seekers - Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers
The Society for Refugee Healthcare Providers presented an asylum training course that provided an introduction and overview of asylum medicine. The presentation reviewed the history and legal basis of asylum, the physical and psychological assessment of asylum seekers and how to write affidavits. - Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services
This organization in Florida develops and provides comprehensive care for refugees, asylees, asylum seekers and survivors of torture and genocide by partnering with numerous organizations including major refugee resettlement agencies. - Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma - World Peace, Global and Mental Health, Science and Culture
The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma cares for the health and mental needs of survivors of mass violence and torture through a combined practice of clinical experience and medical research. Their stated vision: To bring the advances of modern medical science to those members of our society who in spite of their great suffering have little access to care. - Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma
A 300-page manual entitled Measuring Trauma, Measuring Torture documents HPRT's scientific and field experience working for eighteen years with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and Hopkins Symptom Check List-25 (HSCL –25). The manual focuses on historical background to the instruments and their development and modification and provides guidance for their utilization and adaptation in three settings: clinical screening, research and treatment. - Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ)
The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) is a checklist written by HPRT, similar in design to the HSCL-25. It inquires about a variety of trauma events, as well as the emotional symptoms considered to be uniquely associated with trauma. Currently there are six versions of this questionnaire. The Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian versions of the HTQ were written for use with Southeast Asian refugees. The Japanese version was written for survivors of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The Croatian Veterans’ Version was written for soldiers who survived the wars in the Balkans, while the Bosnian version was written for civilian survivors of that conflict. All six versions of the questionnaire, and four manuals for its use, including English translations are available by ordering the Measuring Trauma, Measuring Torture manual. - HealTorture.org - Helping Torture Survivors Heal
HealTorture.org is the website of the National Capacity Building Project of The Center for Victims of Torture, and is a resource center for people who are interested in healing after torture. While most of the information on the website is intended for people who are working directly with torture survivors, there is also information on the site that's more accessible to the general public, students doing research, or torture survivors themselves. HealTorture.org is a community website that both supports, and is supported by, people who work in torture treatment centers. - HealthRight International
A global health and human rights organization working to build lasting access to health for excluded communities. Projects address health and social crises made worse by human rights violations, with a particular focus and expertise on: HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria; women’s health; health and welfare of orphans and other at-risk children and youth; and care and support for survivors of human rights violations such as torture, trafficking, and domestic and gender-based violence. - Helping immigrant victims of torture heal in Puget Sound region - The Seattle Times
Article (2013) about efforts in caring for immigrant victims of torture in Puget Sound region by the Seattle Times. - Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL)
The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL) is a well-known and widely used screening instrument which measures symptoms of anxiety and depression. The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma has translated the HSCL-25 and a manual for its use into Bosnian, Cambodian, Croatian, Japanese, Laotian, and Vietnamese. All of these include an English translation. - International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims provides many resources for those working in the field of torture rehabilitation and prevention. The IRCT is a health-based umbrella organisation that supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and the prevention of torture worldwide. - Iraqi Refugees Suffer Long-Term Effects of Torture - NPR
NPR story (2008) One in five Iraqi refugees has been tortured or has suffered from other violence, according to data collected by United Nations in Syria. - Istanbul Protocol Model Curriculum
Together with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and other NGOs, Physicians for Human Rights developed this Model Curriculum for health professionals to document torture and ill-treatment according to Istanbul Protocol standards. The following are modules in the curriculum: International Legal Standards, Istanbul Protocol Standards for Medical Documentation of Torture and Medical Ethics, Interview Considerations, Torture Methods and their Medical Consequences, Physical Evidence of Torture and Ill Treatment, Psychological Evidence of Torture and Ill Treatment, Case Examples, Writing Reports and Testifying in Court. - Istanbul Protocol
UNHCR’s Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, also known as the Istanbul Protocol. - Khmer Health Advocates
Khmer Health Advocates (KHA) is an organization created to ensure appropriate access to healthcare is available to the Cambodian American survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide, along with their families. Based in West Hartford, CT, KHA provides treatment for those living in Southern New England, as well as advocating for survivors nationwide. - Mental Health - HealTorture.org
HealTorture.org is the website of the National Capacity Building Project of The Center for Victims of Torture, and is a resource center for people who are interested in healing after torture. While most of the information on the website is intended for people who are working directly with torture survivors, there is also information on the site that's more accessible to the general public, students doing research, or torture survivors themselves. This link goes to the website’s search results for resources on the topic of mental health. - National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs (NCTTP)
The NCTTP is a U.S. based network of programs which exists to advance the knowledge, technical capacities and resources devoted to the care of torture survivors living in the United States and acts collectively to prevent torture worldwide. Contact information for members of the Consortium is included on the NCTTP website, including phone numbers, addresses and websites for programs and services in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachussetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington. - Northwest Health and Human Rights (NWHHR)
Created in 2012, Northwest Health and Human Rights (NWHHR) coalition is a partnership of three programs (Refugees Northwest, Harborview Medical Center and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project) that provide medical care, legal representation, and mental health treatment to survivors of torture in the Puget Sound region. - Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education. - PTSD - HealTorture.org
HealTorture.org is the website of the National Capacity Building Project of The Center for Victims of Torture, and is a resource center for people who are interested in healing after torture. While most of the information on the website is intended for people who are working directly with torture survivors, there is also information on the site that's more accessible to the general public, students doing research, or torture survivors themselves. They have provided a list of resources on the topic of PTSD. - Publications - Center for Victims of Torture
CVT’s has several publications about working with trauma victims. Restoring Hope and Dignity: Describes CVT's group counseling model and contains detailed principles, instructions and exercises. The specialized therapeutic intervention outlined in this manual is a 10-session group counseling model that should be delivered by trained local counselors who are receiving ongoing clinical supervision and training. Healing the Hurt: A Guide for Developing Services for Torture Survivors: Developed for practitioners who may or may not have worked previously with torture survivors this is a multidisciplinary guide that addresses some basic considerations when working with this population. - Refugees Northwest
Refugees Northwest, a program of Lutheran Community Services Northwest, has programming that includes: trauma-focused mental health support, torture treatment, unaccompanied minor foster care, asylum assistance, complex medical case management, immigration assistance, drop-out prevention, refugee elder support, and forensic medical and mental health evaluations. - Refugees' perspectives on barriers to communication about trauma histories in primary care
Journal article (2012) from "Mental Health in Family Medicine" that explores refugees' perspectives regarding the nature of communication barriers that impede the exploration of trauma histories in primary care. - Screening - HealTorture.org
A resource for people who are interested in healing after torture. While most of the information on the website is intended for people who are working directly with torture survivors, there is also information on the site that's more accessible to the general public, students doing research, or torture survivors themselves. HealTorture.org is a community website that both supports, and is supported by, people who work in torture treatment centers. - Simple Depression Screen
The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma has developed a brief screening instrument based upon the HSCL-25 and the HTQ-5 to screen for torture and depression in the primary health care setting. This screening instrument is used in a brief 15-minute interview that can be conducted by the primary health care team, including the medical interpreter. Its goal is to quickly and sensitively screen for torture survivors who may be in need of more extensive psychiatric evaluation and mental health treatment. - The Center for Victims of Torture
CVT conducts research, training, advocacy and healing services for survivors. In Minnesota, torture survivors receive out-patient care at a healing center that provides medical and nursing care, psychotherapy, social services and massage and physical therapy. CVT’s international healing initiatives train local community members and refugees to meet the mental health needs in refugee camps and post-conflict areas. - Tools & Resources - Gulf Coast JFCS
Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services webinars where you can learn more about important issues in the torture treatment field, hear leaders in the field discuss effective interventions, and gain an understanding of challenges faced by survivors of torture. - Torture Survivors - Five Part Video Series - Gulf Coast JFCS
This five-part series includes leaders in the field discussing the lessons learned and the models of care at some of the leading torture rehabilitation centers in the country. There are many different ways in which programs deliver quality services to torture survivors. Watch members of the National Partnership for Community Training discuss their work with survivors of torture at the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, the NYU/Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture and the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture.