Psychological Therapies for Survivors of Torture

This edited collection of writings by experienced therapists, social workers and interpreters working with survivors of torture in exile fills a gap in the English-language literature with its specific focus on an increasingly important but neglected client group.

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Chapters cover overarching issues such as interpreter-mediated therapy, assessment, and working with trauma and shame. Others explore in detail the particular needs of specific client groups such as LGBT survivors, women, separated young people, and families. The contributors are from the voluntary and statutory sectors, and work in primary and secondary healthcare, in women’s projects and in refugee therapy settings. They write from a range of psychotherapeutic perspectives and use a variety of models, but all share a holistic approach and use a human-rights framework.

This is a book for all counsellors and therapists, but particularly those new to or already working with this client group. Packed with first-hand practitioner experience and survivors’ stories, and written in plain English, it captures the everyday realities and challenges of survivors’ lives in the UK today. This is also a book for mental health professionals and NGO workers who need a better understanding of the impact of torture and the asylum process on people’s mental wellbeing.