From our more than 40 years extending care to people who survived torture, the Center for Victims of Torture has listened to survivors and applied numerous techniques for healing and helping people as they rebuild their lives after extreme trauma. However, these practices are not reserved only for those who have experienced deeply traumatizing situations, which can include political violence and human rights violations in the context of oppression and injustice. The techniques CVT clinicians have developed are helpful for everyone to take good care of yourself during times of crisis.
Yasna Shahbazi, CVT psychotherapist, worked with many clients in Minnesota who experienced the violent and militarized federal immigration enforcement. She said that clients lived through two to three months of panic and survival mode in early 2026. “Most were in a state of shock and disbelief, uncertain about what was happening or where they could go for safety,” she said.
Clients, many of whom experienced similar abuses in their home countries before legally settling in the United States, were afraid for their futures and lives in the U.S. “Many began having nightmares,” Yasna said, “having flashbacks to their experiences with police and people in uniform—vivid recollections of what had happened to them.”
“In therapy, clients build a safe alliance with us,” Yasna said. “But when the ICE surge erupted, it was as if they retreated to the day we first met—whether that was a year or three years ago. It was as if we had done no work at all.”
Because healing is a long process,” Yasna said, “it is helpful to have reminders of the small, practical steps we can take to facilitate it.”
-Yasna Shahbazi, psychotherapist
Yasna worked with clients virtually during this time, focusing on grounding techniques. She performed the exercises alongside them, noting, “It was helpful for me to get up with them, do stretches and use movement to bring awareness back to the body.”
“Because healing is a long process,” Yasna said, “it is helpful to have reminders of the small, practical steps we can take to facilitate it.”
Taking Care of Yourself During Times of Crisis
CVT clinicians tell us that just because a specific threat has moved away or lessened, the mental health symptoms do not necessarily go away. In some cases, those may even worsen. Below are tips for coping and grounding yourself as you deal with stress during times of crisis as well as in the days and weeks afterward.
1. Keep up a routine. Do your best to maintain tasks that are part of basic daily living: set a time to wake up, take care of bathing and grooming, prepare meals and do your laundry, contact friends and loved ones, write in a journal, watch your favorite tv programs, read to your children. Give yourself the time you need to do things that bring you happiness whenever possible.
2. Eat. Stress can sometimes cause lack of appetite, so it’s important to schedule times to eat even if you don’t feel hungry. Your body needs healthy calories. At a minimum, schedule one time each day for a meal.
3. Limit your use of social media. It can be compelling to check your phone, especially during times when you find updates about the situation on your social media sites. Still, it’s important to limit your usage and exposure to information about traumatic events. If you are unable to cut out social media completely, set a designated schedule when you plan to look at it – perhaps allow yourself to look once at 10 am and then one more time at 6 pm. In particular, limit your exposure to stressful and traumatizing images before you try to go to sleep.
4. Sleep. Try maintain a regular sleep schedule. Even if you don’t feel tired, give yourself a regular time when you will go to be every day. Set an alarm for a regular time each morning. If you have trouble falling asleep, listen to calming sounds of nature, white noise and or podcasts that are story-based or meditation.
5. Move your body. If you are not able to leave your home, try gentle stretches or walk inside your home. If you are able to climb stairs, make a practice of going up and down the steps for several minutes. Exercise along with online videos – they are free and often indicate the level of intensity of the workout. Select ones that work for you.
6. Take care of your health. If it is risky to leave your home, see if your doctor offers virtual appointments. If you can, visit your doctor for medication evaluation; in addition to medications, there may be supplements that can help with depression, anxiety and sleep problems.
Standing Up for Justice
Another important consideration for people who have lived through state violence is how to bring about justice and accountability. So how do communities effectively do this? “Justice is a broad term and can be deeply personal as well as collectively shared,” said C, one of CVT’s experts in justice and accountability. “Approaches to achieving justice can be formal or informal, and they can evolve over time.”
There are many different terms and approaches, said Alison Beckman (Ally), senior clinician for external relations. “There are truth and reconciliation commissions, there’s accountability, there’s storytelling and all kinds of methods,” she said. But she noted that at the core, effective approaches to justice center the voices of the people who are affected.
. . . at the core, effective approaches to justice center the voices of the people who are affected.”
-Alison Beckman, senior clinician for external relations
“They may wish to share the story of what happened to them with the hope that there will be some accountability,” Ally said. “For one person, documenting one’s story in and of itself might be what they want to do.” People may want to keep their written story only for themselves or to share with their family, and that’s where it stops for that person, she said.
Across the variety of survivors’ preferences for sharing their narrative, telling their story can be a powerful tool for justice and accountability. “This is particularly meaningful where official narratives or disinformation campaigns from those in power erase, minimize or even vilify their experience,” C said.
Ally also said that for others, a more formal and complex process is an important part of their work for justice. “For some survivors of torture, for example,” she said, “this would include being able to testify in court against their torturer.”
As we consider options for justice, Yasna suggested people allow themselves the time and space to take a reality check and look at “making meaning out of your life, making meaning out of this situation by being proactive.” People may wish to advocate and do whatever feels right to you, she said. “But do so while recognizing your own capacity.”
C agrees. “Sometimes people prefer to reflect on what justice means to them, their family and their community when they have had space and even support to process their experiences,” C said. “Safety can also be an important component, but even when the threat is not gone, there are ways to support survivors in creating safety, facilitating the space where they can claim their rights.”
Yasna recommends checking in with your feelings and understanding that you need to build resilience. It takes time. It’s important to check in with strong emotions, she said. The strong feelings are justifiable but can be draining, she said. “It takes away your sense of meaning.”
Yasna recommends checking in with your feelings and understanding that you need to build resilience. It takes time.”
Taking steps to build your resilience is like an investment, Yasna said. “We remind ourselves of what we’ve survived,” she said.
And for a lot of survivors, C added, “Resilience is something they are able to claim and build even when challenging circumstances continue. It’s what helps them carry on in these times.”
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For practical guidance on accountability methods and practices for seeking justice, see CVT’s evidence brief titled “Which Method Should be Used to Gather Views on Justice and Accountability?”
