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HealTorture.org is a resource center for people who are interested in healing survivors of torture.

HealTorture is the website of the National Capacity Building Project of The Center for Victims of Torture.

Since 2001, we have offered technical assistance and specialized training to more than 49 torture survivor rehabilitation programs and organizations, to improve the quality of care to torture survivors and to strengthen those organizations serving them. Now in its 22nd year, NCB is working in partnership with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs to expand and build networks of providers to foster knowledge-sharing among torture rehabilitation professionals and provide training in clinical skills and best practices, financial sustainability, organizational development, program management, and data analysis and evaluation. Programs and organizations are eligible for NCB services if they are funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the Torture Victims Relief Act, or have membership in the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs. We are funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Business team attending a presentation

What We Do

We provide capacity building and training to organizations serving survivors of torture in the United States. As the technical assistance arm of the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Survivors of Torture Program, we implement the goal of ensuring “that direct services to survivors of torture grantees and ORR-funded organizations serving survivors of torture have the technical assistance and resources needed to provide quality, integrated, and sustainable services to survivors and their families in the United States.”

NCB and our partners are recognized leaders in the field of torture rehabilitation, with collectively over six decades of direct services experience and providing technical assistance to DS SOT grantees and other ORR-supported organizations serving torture survivors, healthcare providers and community-based organizations, including entities in underserved regions.

HealTorture.org is intended to be a communal resource for participating survivor of torture programs. If you have an upcoming event you would like highlighted on the site, a resource you have found to be valuable, or a promising practice that should be featured, please send an email to [email protected]. Similarly email us if there is an area that you would like to see more resources available.

  • Consultations with Our Experts

    We offer free consultations to meet pressing issues at torture survivor programs and refugee-serving organizations, that take place in two ways: through extensive and repeated contact about a broad issue or through shorter, targeted consultations on a specific topic. We will work with you to identify your needs and priorities, and then offer guidance on how to approach a particular issue or need within your program or organization. We understand each torture survivor program faces its own unique challenges, understands its needs the best, and that change can only come from within a program.

  • E-Learning

    Our eLearning includes a two standalone online series: Fundamentals in Providing Services to Torture Survivors and Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research (PMER). The Fundamentals aims to enhance core competencies of providing holistic services. This course may be beneficial to new Survivor of Torture staff. PMER addresses common data collection and evaluation issues among Survivor of Torture programs that prevent them from reporting high-quality client data. The course is designed for staff who conduct evaluations but who may not be formally trained in monitoring & evaluation. All our live webinars and some of our in-person trainings are recorded and shared on this website. These include a wide range of topics, but also can be focused on evidence-based practices in torture treatment, holistic sustainability, and integrated care.

  • Knowledge Sharing Around the Community

    All of our activities aim to facilitate knowledge-sharing among the community that supports torture survivors, in ways that range from formal events and consultations to e-learning opportunities to casual networking and discussion. In this section, we specifically want to share the more informal opportunities for knowledge-sharing with and between professionals: a quarterly digest, a discussion listserv, and this website.

  • Integrated Care Measure

    The Survivors of Torture-Integrated Care Continuum (SOT-ICC) is a core component of the NCB Project. This measure will utilize SAMHSA’s “Standard Framework for Levels of Integrated Healthcare” to assess levels of integrated care in organizations serving survivors of torture (SOT). Currently, the majority of SOT organizations maintain minimal or basic collaboration with refugee and community service providers. Through the development of the integrated care measure, we will help SOT programs evaluate organizational practices, patient experience, service delivery, and business strategies. Next, we  partner with SOT programs, offering targeted trainings and capacity building activities to facilitate organizations moving forward toward more integrated care.

  • Advisory Group

    The NCB Advisory Group (AG) provides strategic and expert guidance to, and serves as an advocate and sounding board for our project. Specifically, the AG provides expert advice to ensure impactful activities and results of our goals and key deliverables. The AG will further advise on technical assistance initiatives, as well as trends, gaps, and needs in the field of torture rehabilitation, capacity building, training, and other relevant areas of priority. AG members represent diverse constituent perspectives, and a wide range of professional and technical expertise including psychologists, social workers, administrators, refugee resettlement staff, development officers, and medical and legal professionals. The AG is composed of 8-10 members, our project team, and partner representatives from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement Survivors of Torture Program Specialist.

  • Medical Task Force

    ORR and NCB have established a Medical Services Task Force (MSTF), to be led by the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT). This advisory group will review the current medical needs, services, and outcomes for survivors and provide recommendations that seek to: make the services more responsive to the needs, strengthen the service delivery models, and improve the health outcomes of survivors. The Task Force’s mission aims to review the current medical care for torture survivors provided by the government-funded SOT Programs. The MSTF comprises 13 experts, representing medical, psychological, women’s health, social work, case management, policy, and infectious disease.

  • Community of Practice Initiative

    The Office of Refugee Resettlement Services for Survivors of Torture (SOT) grant program launched an NCB Community of Practice Initiative in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and it is still thriving. A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of persons intentionally committed to learning new skills and sharing knowledge through dialogue and discussion. These Community of Practice groups are offered to ORR SOT grantees at this time. There are three parts to this continued initiative: Peer Consultation Groups, regularly held Virtual Town Meetings, and Community of Practice Event.

  • About Our Team

    Our NCB team is made up of members from The Center for Victims of Torture staff and our partners from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and the National Consortium for Torture Treatment Programs.

  • Ask an Expert

    Have a question about your work with survivors of torture? Let us help you. We offer free, remote consultations to meet pressing issues at torture survivor programs and refugee-serving organizations.

  • Have something you would like to share?

    We encourage people who are serving survivors of torture to let us know about upcoming webinars, trainings, and resources to post on this website. Or if you have questions or issues when using the website, please contact us using the form below.