A novel bio-psycho-social approach for rehabilitation of traumatized victims of torture and war in the post-conflict context: a pilot randomized controlled trial in Kosovo.
Background: Some evidence showed that multidisciplinary rehabilitation in Western countries is effective for treating war-related trauma, but it remains unclear whether this approach is applicable to civilians living in resource-poor countries affected by war. In 201214, Danish Institute against Torture (DIGNITY) conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT), in partnership with Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT), to examine the effects of ultidisciplinary intervention among victims of torture and war in Kosovo.(BioMedCentral open access)
http://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-016-0100-y
Canadian Center for Victims of Torture (CCVT)
Is a non-profit, founded by several Toronto doctors, lawyers and social service professionals, many of whom were associated with Amnesty International. The CCVT was incorporated in 1983 as the Canadian Centre for the Investigation and Prevention of Torture. The name was changed in 1988 to better reflect the Centre’s mandate. The Centre was the second such facility in the world to be established. The first was in Copenhagen in 1982. In 2003, CCVT was accredited to the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT).
Gross human rights violations and reparation under international law: approaching rehabilitation as a form of reparation
The strengthening of international criminal law through an increased focus on the right to reparation and rehabilitation for victims of crimes against humanity is an important challenge to health professionals, particularly in the field of trauma research and treatment. A brief outline of developments within international law and justice is presented, with a focus on the right to reparation including the means for rehabilitation. The active presence of trauma-informed health professionals is a priority. The issues raised within the context of states obligations to provide and ensure redress and rehabilitation to those subjected to torture are discussed, and in particular how rehabilitation can be understood and responded to by health professionals.
Nightmares in Jalazone: Families deal with trauma following Israeli torture
To understand psychiatric home visits in Palestine necessitates forgoing Western assumptions about patient confidentiality, privacy, and timeliness. Though individual patients often refer themselves to treatment centers after a release from prison, the difficulty of traveling to and from major cities requires therapists to make home visits. Families then participate in the session as a group, thereby coming to better understand their family members situation and relieving some of their own symptoms as well.
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/12/nightmares-families-following/
Syrian mental health professionals as refugees in Jordan: establishing mental health services for fellow refugees
While the conflict in Syria rages on, one psychiatrist and several psychologists, all of them Syrian refugees, have founded Syria Bright Future, a volunteer organisation that provides psychosocial and mental health services to Syrian refugees in Jordan. This field report describes how the organisation assists families in settling after their harsh journey, in adapting to new living conditions and circumstances, coping with difficulties they encounter and strengthening their resilience. Syria Bright Future does this by providing short term support and counselling, and by referring individuals and families to other international and Jordanian organisations, or to informal support networks of Syrian refugees for further assistance.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/887d/7134857e1bea49793cc86418bc05f6981f2a.pdf
Practical guide to the Istanbul Protocol – for lawyers
Action Against Torture. This guide is intended as an auxiliary instrument to the Istanbul Protocol and has been developed as a source of practical reference for lawyers engaged in the investigation and documentation of cases of alleged torture.
https://issuu.com/irct/docs/legal_en_web
The Poverty Barrier: The Right to Rehabilitation for Survivors of Torture in the UK
The complex interrelationship between torture and poverty has been the subject of growing interest in recent years in line with the global recognition that all human rights, including civil and political and socio-economic rights, are ‘universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated’ and there has long been acknowledgement of its significance for the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.
https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/what-we-do/asylum-and-rights/poverty
Beyond statistics sharing, learning and developing good practice in the care of victims of torture
German Association of Psychosocial Centres for Refugees and Victims of Torture. ed. Elise Bittenbinder We want to show that behind the anonymous figures are people many of them survivors of torture trying to start a new life after horrific experiences that have changed their lives and left them with scars that might never heal. Some of them need help and rehabilitation in order to be able to dare to trust in themselves and others again and to find a new sense in life. If we want data, it’s not primarily to measure the level of “threat” which the numbers of refugees pose to our societies, but to help us provide better services for them
http://www.icarfoundation.ro/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/publication-2013-Beyond-statistics-.pdf
Psychosocial and mental health interventions in areas of mass violence
These guidelines and the contribution to the Inter Agency Standing Committee Guidelines, Mental Health: Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings is written to share our technical experiences, to help colleagues and other humanitarian workers to avoid repeating the mistakes we have made. We do not claim that our intervention model is the only way to approach psychosocial or mental health problems in areas of conflict. We realise the limitations and opportunities of our organisations specific medical, humanitarian emergency origin as well as the specificity of our experiences.
https://www.msf.org/sites/msf.org/files/msf_mentalhealthguidelines.pdf
Mental health foundation Ghana
We work with people and organisations to find opportunities, solutions and strategies to address the difficulties faced by people with a mental illness. We trust that people can be well and must not be defined by their symptoms, and we work to support that belief. We promote hope and optimism and encourage healthy coping strategies that enhance the skills of people with mental illness.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/MentalHealthFoundationGhana/about/?ref=page_internal