There are multiple observations indicating
that it is all too common for refugees to have been exposed to
torture. A recent Danish study among asylum-seeking immigrants
indicates that 45% have been subjected to torture in their
countries of origin.
Survivors of torture are an exceptional
patient group as they usually have a complex combination of
somatic, psychological and social problems leading to severe
activity limitations and participation restrictions. This also
severely affects their integration in a new country. Many survivors
are excluded from standard rehabilitation due to language, culture,
PTSD symptoms, complexity, and multiple social problems. Thus, it
is highly relevant for rehabilitation providers, in both Western
and developing countries to share existing knowledge in the field
and identify the components that constitute a successful
rehabilitation process.
Nevertheless, few or no adequate randomized controlled trials of
torture survivor rehabilitation exist and effect studies are
urgently warranted. However, the major elements of problems
experienced by torture survivors already have been studied
thoroughly in other patient groups. Consequently, important
elements in the problems of torture survivors can be addressed from
an evidence base generated both from traumatized and
non-traumatized patient populations. This is what the RCT did in
December 2008 when the centre hosted an international conference
gathering international experts from different scientific and
professional areas.
Currently a scientific article from the RCT summarizes the
state-of-the-art knowledge presented at the conference. The
available evidence highlights the importance of an
interdisciplinary approach to rehabilitation of survivors. Since
the physical, mental and social dimensions of health are
interrelated, it is crucial that these three health arenas can be
evaluated and addressed in a comprehensive, integrated fashion. The
use of trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy and/or eye
movement desensitization and reprocessing, as well as
interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation with a strong focus on
contextual matters indicate a beneficial path to follow.
Download the article here
`Rehabilitating torture survivors´
Authors: Bengt H. Sjölund, Marianne Kastrup, Edith Montgomery, Ann
L. Persson
Published in: Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2009
Sep;41(9):689-96.
Written by Heidi Koch Tokle