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What does HealTorture.org offer Service Providers?
How do I learn about the Healing Process?
What can I learn about via Webinars or by watching Videos?
What if I am a New Employee to a program serving torture survivors?
What resources are available to Students researching the healing process of torture survivors?

We encourage people who are serving survivors of torture to submit resources to this website.

Post-resettlement stressors, coping strategies, and the Afghan Symptom Checklist

A recorded webinar of this training is available on the Center of Excellence's website on their NewComer Health page to see all their resources. Or click here to watch the recording of the training.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING

  • Describe examples of resettlement stressors and potential impact on the mental health among Afghan arrivals
  • Provide examples of how Afghans may speak about and understand distress, including two examples of Afghan idioms of distress
  • Understand some ways in which Afghan may seek help
  • Understand the purpose and use of the Afghan Symptom Checklist

MODERATOR:

Corrective Political Experiences: Psychological Impacts of Public Testimony for Survivors of Torture

A new report titled “Corrective Political Experiences: Psychological Impacts of Public Testimony for Survivors of Torture,” was co-authored by Léonce Byimana, Executive Director of TASSC International. The paper was published in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, and it examines how engaging in public testimony impacts survivors’ healing. Seini O’Connor, Sheetal Patel and Dennis Kivlighan, Jr., were co-authors on the report. The abstract is publicly available at this link:  https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000414 The full-text version is available for purchase or from your local library.

CVT Literature Selection Q4 2021

This document is a resource for current literature, October through December, on the topic of the mental health status of and treatments for torture survivors, war trauma survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers. This also includes research in the area of social work that relates directly to the psychological well-being of these populations. The compilation below includes peer-reviewed journal article citations in these areas and links to the publicly available abstracts and full-text versions of these articles.

Switchboard New Toolkit: Supporting Afghan Youth in Schools and Youth Programs in the United States

Switchboard's new toolkit is designed for educators and youth program managers who are welcoming Afghan youth and want to prepare for their arrival. The toolkit provides context on the Afghan education system and possible educational experiences of students. It includes considerations and strategies for working with Afghan students and their families and additional resources that may be useful for serving this population. Click here to download! 

Afghan Arrivals

Afghan Assistance Resources

Through Operations Allies Welcome, the U.S. government is assisting Afghans and their families in resettling in the United States. In an effort to support resettlement agencies and other organizations serving Afghan families, NCB has created a resource page with links to training materials and a map of organizations serving survivors of torture and other vulnerable groups. Below are additional resources and trainings available for working with this population.

National Capacity Building Project

Welcome to the 2019-2022 Guide to Services

Overview

The National Capacity Building (NCB) Project at the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) is pleased to announce our guide to services for FY19-22. We work in collaboration with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT) to 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 (SOT), we will implement ORR’s TA goal of ensuring“that DS SOT grantees and ORR-funded organizations serving

Registration Now Open for Harvard Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery Certificate Program

Registration Now Open for Harvard Global Mental Health:Trauma and Recovery Certificate Program

Harvard Medical School Intensive Online Training In Principles and Practices in Global Mental Health

April 25 - May 6, 2022

The Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and the Harvard Medical School Department of Global and Continuing Education accredits an exciting two (2) week online certificate program in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery. This course will provide you with knowledge and skills to provide clinical care, programs, and policy to highly traumatized patients, and communities.

Afghan Nationals and REAL ID Compliance

The DHS REAL ID office has posted an FAQ regarding Eligibility of Afghanistan nationals paroled into the United States for REAL ID compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards.  It is the last of the five FAQ groups on their FAQ webpage:

REAL ID FAQs | Homeland Security (dhs.gov)

ORR encourages you to forward this email to your colleagues who may also benefit from this information. In addition, please routinely check our Policy Letters and Dear Colleague Letters pages for updated guidance.

Caring for Newly Arrived Afghans - Free Online Course with CME

Developed by the Global Medicine at the University of Minnesota, this four-hour FREE course, composed of recorded lectures and interactive lessons, helps prepare providers to serve newly arrived Afghans. It covers topics ranging from Operation: Allies Welcome to Afghan cultural background, general and skin medical exams, and mental health care, to clinical observations from practitioners at welcome centers and in receiving states.

Please share this training opportunity with providers serving Afghans in Safe Havens and receiving states. 

Click here for more information.

Access for Everyone: A Toolkit for Addressing Health Equity and Racial Justice within Integrated Care Settings

A New Toolkit from the National Council for Mental Wellness

The first module is available here and focuses on mental health equity, including the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate care. The entire toolkit, modules 2-6, will be released by March of 2022. 

Information from the page, provided by the National Council for Mental Wellness on this toolkit:

As an organization, we have vowed to raise awareness about health care inequities and are committed to providing support to our members as they begin to or continue to address these inequities and persistent health disparities

USCIS information for Afghan Nationals

Please see the attached announcements from our USCIS colleagues. These items announce some of the new fee exemptions and streamline processing that will impact our Afghan populations.

The notable process changes include a separate filing address for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization and the Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status:

Please note that the attached

ORR PLs 22-06 - Refugee Mental Health Initiative within the Refugee Health Promotion Program; ORR PL 22-07 - Refugee School Impact Program; ORR PL 22-08 - Services to Older Refugees; ORR PL 22-09 - Youth Mentoring Program

Please find attached the following ORR policy letters:

  • ORR PL 22-06 Refugee Mental Health Initiative within the Refugee Health Promotion Program
  • ORR PL 22-07 Refugee School Impact Program
  • ORR PL 22-08 Services to Older Refugee Program
  • ORR PL 22-09 Youth Mentoring Program

If you have any questions regarding these policy letters, please direct your questions to ORR’s Refugee Policy Unit at RefugeePolicy@acf.hhs.gov.

ORR Updated guidance: federal documentation for Afghan arrivals

Given the urgency and difficulty in obtaining consistent federal documentation for Afghan arrivals, RPU is providing updated guidance, before revising or publishing an ORR Policy Letter to this effect.

ACCESS TO FEDERAL TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION:

For those who are having trouble accessing federal travel documentation (such as a Form I-94, A-number, passport number, or official DHS documentation) for Afghan arrivals, please follow these steps:

  1. Contact the national resettlement agency for assurance and travel documentation, which may include identifying information on the assured Afghan arrival

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