At CVT we rely on expatriate professionals to provide high quality mental health care to survivors of torture and war trauma. They do this under difficult circumstances, working in refugee camps and post-conflict countries where infrastructure and services are limited. New expats must also be prepared to deal with the emotional aspects of their work, including hearing stories of torture and trauma regularly and living as a stranger in a community. The life of an expat is not easy, yet it is filled with intangible rewards of watching local counselors learn and hearing directly from the survivors how their lives have changed.
Torture survivors aren’t always able to receive the help they need at our healing centers, so we find ways to reach them through community collaborations, mobile units or simply staff on bicycles. This issue of Storycloth highlights the ways that we bring healing to survivors where they live.
Over 140 torture rehabilitation centers around the world make a unique contribution in the fight to end torture and to heal the men and women who have survived it. They reclaim leaders targeted for torture, document evidence of torture and expose the secrecy used to hide human rights abuses. But many centers operate in isolation and fear. CVT's new Partners in Trauma Healing (PATH) project will offer professional, intellectual and emotional support to the staff of 10 of these centers.
Using music and other customs in the healing process is routine for the clinical staff at CVT. This newsletter shares how CVT provides healing services across cultures. You’ll also read Douglas A. Johnson’s last “Letter from the Executive Director.”
Healing in Partnership: Collaborating to Provide Mental Health Care to Refugees
September 2011
When Tao arrived in the United States, she hoped to leave behind the violence she witnessed in her war-torn Southeast Asian country. Yet after resettlement, she was isolated and lived in fear. This newsletter shares how refugees like Tao are being helped by CVT's new Healing in Partnership project.
Early in 2011 CVT launched its latest project in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Read how we're helping Somalis and other refugees who have survived torture and war trauma rebuild their lives. CORRECTION: In this newsletter, we neglected to mention that CVT's work in Dadaab would not be possible without the generous support of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
Sexual assault is a common form of torture, including for the survivors we work with in the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Jordan. In this newsletter you'll read what we're doing to help survivors of sexual assault.
Executive Director Douglas A. Johnson Announces Resignation
February 2011
In this issue Douglas A. Johnson announces plans to leave his position as executive director. Read about Doug's accomplishments during his 23 years of service.