Domestic Healing Centers

General Services for Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees

USAHello is a non-profit organization that created a searchable online map for a variety of resources for immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees including legal help, housing, education, healthcare, jobs, and resettlement services. Click here to access their map. 

Specialized Survivor of Torture Services

NCB works with 43 Survivor of Torture treatment programs across the country that provide services including medical, social services, mental health, and legal services for individuals meeting ORR eligibility criteria as a survivor of torture. View either by using the sidebar which lists these programs by state and click on the program for more information, or use the map below and click on a pin to learn the program at that location, referral information (if available), the types of services provided, where they are located, and their contact information.

In light of the continuing emergency at the southern US border and surge in the caseload of asylum seekers, there may be a delay in response by the selected survivors of torture programs and organizations (Healing Centers) listed under this webpage link. Further, referral requests should be directed to the healing centers (listed on the map) first, before contacting their respective service partners to support with specific referrals. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

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NCB works with a number of torture treatment programs in the United States. The healing centers listed are either funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement or are members of NCTTP. Click on a pin to view information about a particular healing center and for a link to that center's information and website. Many, but not all, torture treatment centers in the United States are members of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Centers (NCTTP). 

For questions about NCTTP, please visit their website, or contact:

Hawthorne E. Smith, Ph.D.
President of National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs
Director; Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture
Associate Clinical Professor; NYU School of Medicine
462 First Ave. #CD 743
New York, NY 10016
212-562-8605

 

There are Healing Centers in other countries of the world. Click to view International Healing Centers.

 

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Stories from the Field

Stories from the Field 1

This episode of Stories from the Field features Svang Tor from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, and Megan Berthold from the Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles, speaking about what brought them to work in the field of torture treatment. Tor, a survivor of the Killing Fields in Cambodia, talks about the loss and difficulty of her arrival in the United States in 1981, but how her grandfather's exhortation to "do good" inspired her to work with torture survivors. To do good, "You don't need money. You just need your heart." Berthold was mentored by Tor early on in her psychiatric career, and has continued to collaborate with her and her colleagues on research and oral history. Berthold's volunteer experience in Nepal gave her cross-cultural interests that extended through her professional development. Berthold talks briefly about doing forensic assessments, expert witness testimony, and therapy, and how she uses a mindfulness approach to help her stay in this meaningful work, and takes a strengths-based approach to healing and inspiration.

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Average: 4.5 (2 votes)
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Stories from the Field 2

This episode of Stories from the Field features Carolina Sheinfeld from the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Sheinfeld, an international human rights analyst, came to the work through volunteering.

Sheinfeld says that the thing that keeps her going is the diversity of the client base, and their different experiences in life. Your work changes their life. Keep self-care in mind because there's something called Secondary Trauma, and avoiding it is not a useful approach. Sheinfeld appeals: "Please, if you feel exhausted... you have invasive thoughts... you don't prioritize yourself... talk to your supervisor, talk to your friends, if you can, talk to a therapist." She recommends Thich Nhat Hanh's Miracle of Mindfulness and exhorts new workers in the field to take care of themselves.

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Average: 3 (3 votes)
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Stories from the Field 3

This episode of Stories from the Field features Abdallah Boumediene from ACCESS in Michigan, and Aaron/Hari Acharya from HealthRight in New York, speaking about what brought them to work in the field of torture treatment. Boumediene talks about how he came to ACCESS from a background in healthcare administration, but how his work with the torture survivors program at ACCESS was colored by his own experiences in Algeria during the French occupation. Boumediene's memories were difficult for him, but inspired him to greater efforts in healing, advocacy, and leadership of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs. Acharya talks about his work with HealthRight's Human Rights Clinic, which provides forensic evaluations to torture survivors. As for many people, Acharya's path to this work was a personal one, originating in his own traumatic experience being evicted from Bhutan. While resident of a refugee camp in Nepal, Acharya began working with an NGO to document torture wounds and refer survivors for mental health services. 

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Average: 3 (2 votes)
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Stories from the Field 4

This episode of Stories from the Field features Jean Abbott from the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma in St. Louis, speaking about how she came to work in the field of torture treatment through the refuge movement, founded the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma in St. Louis, and what keeps her in the field: the compelling relationships that help in healing.

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Average: 3.3 (3 votes)
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