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Victims of Torture

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Tasman’s Psychiatry

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Abstract

Torture, the act of inflicting physical and/or mental suffering on an individual, occurs within the context of a collective system or institution that permits, orders, and enforces it. For many torture survivors, torture is a continuous and cumulative experience associated with persistent adverse mental and physical health sequelae, underpinned by neurobiological, psychosocial, cultural, and environmental determinants. A constellation of pre-migratory, peri-migratory, and post-migratory risk factors underlie the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety somatization, dissociation, psychosis, complicated grief, and other mental health problems commonly seen in survivors of war torture, refugees, and asylum seekers. Extreme trauma, such as extended periods of imprisonment and torture, can also result in complex trauma reactions. However, a subset of torture survivors may not develop any mental health problems due to protective and resiliency factors. There is a paucity of randomized controlled trial evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders in this population. Evaluation of non-specialist-delivered evidence-based psychological therapies that are scalable, as well as integrated interventions that are culturally embedded and address the needs and priorities of torture survivors, is also needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This chapter focuses on the mental health outcomes of torture – prevalence rates, diagnostic and measurement issues, cultural considerations, and management (pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation).

This chapter is an update from the 4th edition. Previous edition authors were James M. Jaranson and Marianne C. Kastrup

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Acknowledgments

Soraya Seedat is supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder funded by the Department of Science and Innovation and the National Research Foundation and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Unit on the Genomics of Brain Disorders funded by the SAMRC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg Campus, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Soraya Seedat

  2. South African Research Chair in PTSD, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Soraya Seedat

  3. SAMRC Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Soraya Seedat

  4. Anti Torture Support Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Marianne C. Kastrup

Authors
  1. Soraya Seedat
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  2. Marianne C. Kastrup
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Soraya Seedat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Allan Tasman

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Cent, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Michelle B. Riba

  3. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Oakland, CA, USA

    Renato D. Alarcón

  4. Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA

    César A. Alfonso

  5. Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Shigenobu Kanba

  6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

    David M. Ndetei

  7. Malaysian Research Inst on Ageing, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Chee H. Ng

  8. Department of Psychiatry, University of Munich, München, Bayern, Germany

    Thomas G. Schulze

  9. Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia

    Dusica Lecic-Tosevski

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy

    Andrea Fiorillo

  2. Okasha Institute of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

    Tarek Okasha

  3. Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Marianne Kastrup

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, USA

    Jack Drescher

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Seedat, S., Kastrup, M.C. (2023). Victims of Torture. In: Tasman, A., et al. Tasman’s Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42825-9_123-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42825-9_123-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-42825-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42825-9

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