The WFMH was founded in 1948 to advance, among all peoples and nations, the prevention of mental and emotional disorders, the proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health. The Federation, with members and contacts in 112 countries on six continents, has responded to the international mental health crisis through its role as the only worldwide grassroots advocacy and public education organization in the mental health field.
Florida Center for Survivors of Torture is a regional treatment center for refugees and others who are survivors of torture and extreme trauma. Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services is the lead agency in a collaboration with three area resettlement agencies (Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Lutheran Services Florida and World Relief) and the University of South Florida`s Medical School and School of Public Health.
KHA was founded in 1982 by Theanvy Kuoch a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust and refugee and three American nurses who worked in refugee camps in Thailand. KHA provides health assessments and mental health services in the form of individual, family, group and massage therapies for survivors of torture and concentration camp syndromes.
Kontras (The Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence) was formed in March 1998 by the coalition of 12 pro-democracy NGO`s (Non Government Organization ) such as KIPP (Independent Committee for Election Watch), AJI (the Alliance Independent Journalist), YLBHI (Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation), and one student organization PMII (Indonesian Islamic Student Movement) and activist in response to the Indonesian government`s silence regarding disappearances.
The Centre for Torture Survivors in Finland (CTSF) carries out mental health work among immigrants. It is a specialized medical treatment unit that assesses, treats and rehabilitates refugees who are traumatized because they have been tortured in their home countries. The refugees` close relatives are also included in the treatment.
Centrum `45, founded in 1973, is the dutch national centre for medical-psychological treatment for members of the resistance and victims of war and organized violence. In order to realise its aims Centrum `45 offers a broad range of therapies (in Dutch).
ACAT(UK) was formed in 1984 by the then British Council of Churches, with the active support of Amnesty International. ACAT is affiliated to the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FiACAT) in Paris, and is a Body in Association with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. ACAT`s aim is to work, as Christians, for the abolition of torture worldwide. We seek to increase awareness in the Churches and among Christians of the widespread and evil use of torture and the need, for reasons of Christian faith, to campaign for its abolition.
The KwaZulu-Natal Programme for Survivors of Violence aims to assist the individuals, families and communities of KwaZulu-Natal through the prevention of all forms of violence and through rendering services which are both healing and empowering.
The Programme of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (PASTT) provides specialised support services to permanently resettled humanitarian entrants and those on temporary substantive visa products living in the community who are experiencing psychological or psychosocial difficulties associated with surviving torture and trauma before coming to Australia.
Since its start, the WAPR has endeavoured to develop a variety of initiatives that can lead to a better return of persons with mental illnesses back into the community.
Survivors of Torture, International (SOTI) is an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1997 to care for survivors of politically-motivated torture and their families. It is based in San Diego, USA. SOTIs clients come from all over the world.
“ZEBRA” is a private and independent organization which offers council and care for foreigners in Austria since 1986. “ZEBRA” is an NGO working with migrants and refugees. (Also in German, Bosanski-Hrvatski-Srpski, Romanian, Turkish and French)
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) is a multi-disciplinary South African non-governmental organisation. Since its inception in 1989, the CSVR has been dedicated to making a meaningful contribution to peaceful and fundamental transformation in South Africa, and in the Southern African region.
The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was created within the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989, in response to a Congressional mandate to address the needs of veterans with military-related PTSD.
Promotes recovery for the 15 million Australians affected by trauma. We do this by working with individuals, organisations and the community to understand, prevent, and recover from the potential adverse effects of trauma. Phoenix Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with an affiliation with the University of Melbourne
ASTSS is an organisation of over 600 health professionals dedicated to the treatment and prevention of trauma It is closely involved with ISTSS, the international body based in the USA. ASTSS has Chapters in each Australian State and in New Zealand.
The European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, established in 1993, is the European network for professionals in the field of psychotraumatology.
The VVCS is a free and confidential service provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Despite the name, veterans of any conflict are welcome to attend and you do not need to have a war-related disability or entitlement from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Those who may use the services of the VVCS include Australian veterans of all conflicts and peacekeeping operations, as well as their families.
The Convention provides non-judicial preventive machinery to protect detainees. It is based on a system of visits by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). The Secretariat of the CPT forms part of the Council of Europes Directorate General of Human Rights.
(also in French)
The Fund was established by General Assembly resolution 36/151 of 16 December 1981 to receive voluntary contributions from Governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals for distribution to non-governmental organizations providing humanitarian assistance to victims of torture and members of their family.
The Committee against Torture was established pursuant to article 17 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and began to function on 1 January 1988.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 1985/33, decided to appoint an expert, a special rapporteur, to examine questions relevant to torture. The mandate was extemded for 3 years by Human Rights Council resolution 8/8 in June 2008. It covers all countries, irrespective of whether a State has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
STTARS is a non-government, non-profit organisation incorporated in South Australia in 1991 which assists people who have experienced torture, war or trauma related to refugee experience.
ASeTTS is a non profit, non government organisation which provides treatment and support to people who have been tortured or traumatized by violent conflicts. Many of our clients are recent arrivals to Australia, although our services are available to all survivors whatever the length of their residence in Australia has been.
QPASTT aims to provide services which address the range of physical, psychological and social needs of refugee survivors of torture and trauma. We offer access to experienced professional staff who are qualified in psychology, social work and other human services disciplines with a flexible client-centered approach. Some staff are bilingual and interpreters are also used.
CVT exists to heal the wounds of government-sponsored torture on individuals, their families, and communities and to stop its practice. We work locally, nationally and internationally.
Survivors International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the treatment and support of survivors of torture.
About 40 violent conflicts are currently active and nearly 1% of the people in the world are refugees or displaced persons. Over 80% of all refugees are in developing countries, although 4 million have claimed asylum in western Europe in the past decade.
The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture aids survivors to overcome the lasting effects of torture and war. In partnership with the community, the Centre supports survivors in the process of successful integration into Canadian society, works for their protection and integrity, and raises awareness of the continuing effects of torture and war on survivors and their families. The CCVT gives hope after the horror.
ICAR Foundation is a Romanian NGO, set-up in 1991 and legally registered in 1992. Dr. Camelia Doru founded ICAR Foundation with the support of a group of 19 civil society representatives in an attempt to remedy a part of the injustice done to fellow Romanians for their political opinion under the previous regime and to show their gratitude to them. (in Romanian and English)
Rehabilitation center for victims of torture in Lebanon.
Cordelia Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims started its work in autumn 1996 with psychosocial counseling and psychiatric rehabilitation of traumatized war victims and tortured refugees coming from all over the world. Cordelias basic mission is to offer psychiatric and psychosocial care to torture survivors and other serious trauma victims of organized violence. It is based in Budapest, Hungary.
The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC), is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organisation, that was established to provide psychosocial services to survivors of politically-motivated torture and violence, to their families and to their communities. TRC, the only Center of its kind in the West Bank, was founded by a Palestinian psychiatrist (currently TRCs Director) in 1997, under the umbrella of the Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners.
Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU)is an NGO comprised of a network of doctors and lawyers in Kenya dedicated to a torture free society though medico legal documentation. Our vision is to transform social paradigms on torture and human rights abuse and transforming social perception on torture and human rights.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (also known as the “Human Rights Forum”) has been in existence since January 1998. Non-governmental organisations working in the field of human rights came together to provide legal and psycho-social assistance to the victims of the Food Riots of January 1998. The Human Rights Forum has now expanded its objectives to assist victims of organised violence.
Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established within or as extensions of existing health-care centres. One of the objectives of the CMHCs is to provide clinical services for persons with mental health problems, and psychosocial rehabilitation of war traumatized persons.
The Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) started functioning in October of 2003. It is non-profit, non-governmental organization, it offers multidisciplinary, professional mental and medical health services, also legal counselling to torture survivors in Georgia. GCRT contributes to the prevention of practice of torture and successful rehabilitation of torture survivors in Georgia, supports international and national initiatives, organizations and agencies directed against inhuman and cruel actions, supports formation of healthy nation and civic society in Georgia. GCRT also contributes to the rise of public awareness on the issues of torture and its consequences, detects and monitors the cases of torture, contributes to reduction of the cases of torture, empowers the protection of the rights of the torture survivors, supports the development of the sphere of psycho traumatology in Georgia.
The SPA is a registered (since 1993), non-profit, non-governmental mental health organization. It is based in Zagreb, Croatia. It welcomes mental health professionals as full members and other people as beneficiaries without regard to gender, race, ethnicity or religious affiliation. (In Croatian and English.)
The NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors provides a holistic range of professional services to facilitate the healing process for refugees who have been exposed to torture and trauma. The service also provides early health assessment and intervention services to newly arrived people from refugee like backgrounds.
The Assistance Centre for Torture Survivors – ACET is a Bulgarian non-governmental, non-profit foundation established in 1995. Its main goals are to provide medical rehabilitation for torture victims and to work for raising awareness on human rights and torture prevention. (In Bulgarian and English.)
The Centre for Victims of Torture Nepal (CVICT), a non-profit, non-governmental organization, was established in 1990 to rehabilitate torture survivors and advocate against torture in Nepal.
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) is an independent, international health professional organization, which promotes and supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and works for the prevention of torture worldwide. The vision of the IRCT is a world that values and accepts shared responsibility for the eradication of torture.
The Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture is a non-governmental organisation that provides professional mental health services to victims of violence and torture, primarily within the Western Cape Metropole region, South Africa.
The Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Tehran, Iran.
OMCT is today the largest international coalition of NGOs fighting against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in order to preserve Human Rights. It has at its disposal a network, SOS Torture, consisting of some 240 non-governmental organisations which act as sources of information. Its urgent interventions reach daily more than 90,000 governmental and intergovernmental institutions, non-governmental associations, pressure and interest groups.