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Original Publication Date: June 21, 2011
Last Updated: April 2, 2023
Estimated Read Time: 2 minutes

Providers of service to survivors of torture may work in the mental healthsocial servicelegal, or medical fields.

There are also people working in the operation and administration of organizations serving torture survivors.

Please review the resources on the linked pages to learn more about these areas.

If you are a new employee in a program serving torture survivors, we suggest the following:

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

There is a private listserv(link is external) available to people serving torture survivors. It is available to all staff working in programs for torture survivors who are either ORR Torture Survivor Program grantees, members of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs (NCTTP), or ORR/TVRA staff. You can request membership, or, if you are a member, access the archives here(link is external).

Technical Assistance Providers(link is external) across the United States are dedicated to working with providers of services to refugees

Switchboard(link is external) is a one-stop resource hub for refugee service providers. Switchboard engages a network of subject matter experts to provide tools and materials, learning opportunities, research, and technical assistance on resettlement-related topics, including employment, education, health, and monitoring and evaluation.

The National Partnership for Community Training(link is external) was previously funded as a TA provider devoted to providing training to service providers who work with refugees, asylum seekers, asylees and other immigrant populations, but may not have the confidence or skills to respond to the needs of their survivor populations.

Caring for Torture Survivors(link is external) is a free online course by Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights(link is external). It’s found under Our Work > Education.
This is a free, internet-based course for individuals from a variety of backgrounds who want to learn about survivors of torture and refugee trauma. Participants will learn about the health consequences of torture, uprooting, and other human rights violations. Participants will also learn how to approach survivors of torture and related trauma, and recognize clinical signs and symptoms in order to screen, treat, and support individuals at risk. Questions about this free course should be sent to [email protected](link sends e-mail).

This one-page document from the ORR describes how refugees, as lawfully present immigrants, are eligible for the same protections and benefits under the Affordable Care Act as U.S. citizens, and what that means for refugees seeking health care.