Our project in the DRC provides mental health care to men, women and children who were tortured during the war. We hire and train local counselors to lead counseling groups and reach out to the community. Expatriate psychotherapists supervise these counselors and provide individual counseling to men and women who need additional care.

Since 2007 we’ve helped more than 4,000 survivors directly and have had thousands participate in large group activities to educate community members about the consequences of torture.

Though many kinds of violent torture were perpetrated in the DRC, rape was one of the most devastating. Sexual torture has been used to unimaginable levels of frequency and severity. CVT addresses the needs of the large number of survivors, both male and female, and has become the referral destination for counseling for cases of rape during war.

In addition to providing healing services, we are:

• Training the staff of international nongovernmental organizations and other agencies to provide appropriate care for survivors
• Conducting home visits to support family members
• Reaching out to refugees with information about the effects of torture, how they can care for themselves and services that are available.
• Our DRC project is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights; and the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.

Strengthening the Congolese Psychology Network
The Trauma Healing Initiative—Africa project is providing training and coaching to local organizations and mental health professionals. We are working with clinical psychology faculty and students at the University of Lubumbashi, DRC, to create a strong mental health network that will continue to heal survivors of torture. The students gain hands-on experience in caring for survivors of torture and war trauma through internships with our community healing projects in Lubumbashi and Moba.  

This project is funded by The European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) through December 2011.