This article, by Michael A. Grodin, Linda Piwowarczyk, and Robert B. Saper, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, is available for free through PubMed.
This paper seeks to explore the potential value of qigong and t’ai chi practice as a therapeutic intervention to aid in the treatment of survivors of torture and refugee trauma.
The common effects of torture and refugee trauma are surveyed with a focus on post-traumatic stress disorder. An alternative theoretical framework for conceptualizing and healing trauma is presented. Evidence is reviewed from the scientific literature that describes how qigong and t’ai chi have been used in studies of the general population to alleviate symptoms that are also expressed in torture survivors. Observations are presented from a combined, simplified qigong and t’ai chi intervention with a convenience sample of four refugee survivors of torture.
Preliminary observations from four cases and a review of the literature support the potential efficacy of incorporating qigong and t’ai chi into the treatment of survivors of torture and refugee trauma.
The incorporation of qigong and t’ai chi into the treatment of torture survivors, within a new framework for healing trauma, merits further investigation.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2745908/?tool=pubmed
Additional Resources
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resourceAssociations between trauma exposure and symptoms of depression and anxiety among first, second, and later-generation immigrant college students
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resourceThe role of maternal postmigration living difficulties in intergenerational trauma transmission among asylum-seeker mother–child dyads
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resourceA Scoping Review of Family-Based Interventions for Immigrant/Refugee Children: Exploring Intergenerational Trauma
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resourceUnpacking the Wounds of Cultural Displacement: Trauma, Healing, and Reconciliation in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake