Chapter 8: Planning Programs for Torture Survivors

Healing the Hurt: A Guide for Developing Services for Torture Survivors was developed by The National Capacity Building Project at The Center for Victims of Torture for practitioners who may or may not have worked previously with torture survivors. It is a multidisciplinary guide that addresses some basic considerations when working with this population. This handbook is a primer, and it should not take the place of more in-depth training in torture treatment. We hope you find this resource helpful in your work with torture survivors. Various chapters are referred to under Providers Resources at HealTorture.org. Access to all handbook chapters is available by downloading the PDF files.

You can view and download the full book here or scroll down to view and download Chapter Eight.

Chapter Eight

Although the field of torture treatment is in its infancy, a body of knowledge has been developing over the last twenty years through accumulated clinical experience and research. Chapter 1 outlines the history of the torture treatment movement. Chapters 3 through 7 describe in some detail the major service components of programs for torture survivors: social services, psychological services, legal services and medical services.

This chapter gives additional information for program planners on needs and resource assessment, financing, choices in structuring services, and training and supporting staff in this demanding work. This information can be used to plan specialized programs for torture survivors. It can also be used by mainstream health, social service, or legal service providers who want to adapt their existing services to serve torture survivors.