Psychological assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of torture survivors: A review

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Abstract

While reliable estimates of the worldwide prevalence of torture are difficult to obtain, reports from human rights groups such as Amnesty International suggest that instances of torture are reaching near epidemic levels. Torture is a human behavioral phenomenon that is critically understudied, and the effects of torture may trickle down into future generations of the victim. The current paper discusses the psychological assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of torture victims, reasons for studying the sequelae of torture, and attempts to address how psychologists can become more involved.

Section snippets

Defining torture

Investigating the effects of torture begins with defining instances of it. Settling upon a definition is sometimes difficult, as the acts encompassed by the term ‘torture’ continue to expand over time. In second and third century Rome, legal definitions included any torment inflicted by a public authority for the public good. This, however, is too narrow for a modern definition. As Peters (1985, p. 2, as cited in Basoglu, 1992) noted, the definition of torture has taken on a wider meaning as

Diagnosis and the psychological sequelae of torture

That torture can have a psychological impact on the victim is both well known and documented (Basoglu, 1993, Basoglu et al., 1994a, Goldfield et al., 1988). Torture in any form is an act designed to psychologically and physically break an individual, which makes it unique among the different types of trauma. The most common psychological disorder found in torture victims is PTSD (Basoglu et al., 2001), however, certain authors caution against focusing too much on this one particular disorder (

Discussion

Torture is a worldwide problem that demands worldwide attention from psychologists. According to human rights groups such as Amnesty International (2004), nations in which torture is practiced is on the rise. Torture can have serious psychological consequences for victims, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other non-specific symptoms. Treating torture survivors, however, has progressed at an appallingly slow rate for a number of reasons, including a lack of standardized measures and

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