Spring 2010, Volume 20, Issue 2 • A Publication of the Center for Victims of Torture • www.cvt.org

INSIDE2 Letter from the Executive Director4 Healing in Partnership4 Join the Circle of Hope!

Building a Healing Network in Africa

Our mission: To heal the wounds of

torture on individuals, their families

and their communities, and to

stop torture worldwide.

Early in 2009 CVT expanded on the healing services in theDemocratic Republic of Congo

by launching a broad initiative incentral Africa. Through the TraumaHealing Initiative-Africa (THI-Africa)project we’re caring for more survivors, training new mentalhealth professionals and bringingadditional resources to threeAfrican torture treatment centers.

Healing survivors

Since 2006, CVT psychothera-pists have been training Congolesepsychosocial counselors to leadcounseling groups for torture survivors. Working first in Pweto in the southeastern province ofKatanga, we later expanded ourhealing services to Moba. With theTHI-Africa project we hired 10additional counselors so we canhelp even more men and womenrebuild their lives. This spring,three of these counselors will beginworking with urban refugees andsurvivors in the provincial capitalof Lubumbashi.

With the new counselors, wewere able to help 400 additionaltorture survivors rebuild their lives

last year. The men and women whoattend the group counseling sessionslearn to manage their feelings ofdeep depression, anxiety, anger andhopelessness. With the skilled careof our counselors and psychologists,these survivors are able to find newmeaning to life and become a partof their communities again.

Building the psychology community

While we are able to bring healing to many torture survivors in the DRC, the legacy of torturewill remain for years to come. Tohelp develop psychologists who can continue to bring healing tosurvivors, we’re working directlywith the clinical psychology programat the University of Lubumbashi.

Like many buildings in the area,the psychology building is old andrun-down. Students meet in class-rooms without electricity, desks orchairs. Because they cannot affordto buy their own books, the studentsshare a dozen clinical psychologytexts in the library.

Through THI-Africa, we workin partnership with the psychologyfaculty to develop educational

modules that will teach students thecounseling skills needed to help torture survivors rebuild their lives.

In addition, twelve clinical psychology students will participatein internships with CVT in Pweto,Moba and Lubumbashi. Throughtheir internships students will learnkey counseling techniques.

“Because of extremely limitedresources, the faculty hasn’t beenable to develop the program as

Congolese counselor Ilunga Wa KulwalaGuillaume and Carlos Aceves work inCVT’s Pweto healing center. In 2009CVT helped 1,169 Congolese torturesurvivors rebuild their lives.

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Letter from the Executive Director

This year CVT will commemorate its twenty-fifth anniversary.

We’ve grown from a small nonprofit in America’s heartland into an international organization with healing centers in the U.S., Africa and theMiddle East.

We’re strengthening 38 colleague groups in the U.S. and 12 in other countries, through technical assistance, training and small grants.

Our work has made the United States the largest international donor to torture survivor centers.

And we have changed the lives—saved the lives—of more than 18,000 torture survivors.

Your support makes this vital work possible. Thank you.

The occasion of our 25th anniversary is in some ways a cause for celebration—a celebration of thenew lives our clients have built in the aftermath of their torture. They’ve walked the path to healing.

But it’s also a cause for reflection, because there is still so much work to do. More than 500,000torture survivors now live in the U.S., and countless thousands await the care they so urgently need.Around the world, untold millions have nowhere to turn.

And every day, survivors of unspeakable cruelty come to our healing centers. People like Rita,George and Elizabeth.

The sound of male laughter reminds Rita of her torture by guards.

George remembers his torturer laughing and telling him “Oh, but this is just the beginning!” every day in the shower when he sees the scar where his thumb used to be.

Elizabeth, a former judge, now works in a library shelving books because whispersare the loudest noise she can tolerate after her interrogation and torture.

With expert care from our extraordinary, professional staff, Rita, George and Elizabeth will heal from their deep wounds and reclaim their lives. Just like the 18,000 survivors who have walked this path before them.

On the occasion of this 25th anniversary, I thank you for being our partner in healing and rebuilding lives. And I thank you in advance for helping people like Rita, George and Elizabeth—in ever-increasing numbers—find the gift of hope and healing at the Center for Victims of Torture.

Sincerely,

Douglas A. Johnson

Douglas A. Johnson

From our first center on thebanks of the Mississippi Riverto healing huts in Africa, theCenter for Victims of Torturehas cared for over 18,000torture survivors.

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they’d like to,” explained SuzannePearl, CVT’s International ServicesProgram Manager. “We’re able toprovide invaluable support to thestudents and faculty who are committed to helping their countryand fellow Congolese heal from the devastation of the war.”

Strengthening torture treatment centers

The THI-Africa project is bring-ing additional clinical training andsupervision to the torture treatmentcenters in Kenya, Cameroon andUganda. CVT psychotherapistGabriele Marini is coaching andtraining the staff at the IndependentMedico Legal Unit in Nairobi,Kenya. Gabriele will also travel toUganda to work with the staff of theAfrican Centre for the Treatmentand Rehabilitation of TortureVictims. A second psychotherapistwill begin working with the Centerfor Rehabilitation and Abolition ofTrauma in Cameroon this spring.

“This is truly a partnership,”said Gabriele. “We share our clini-cal experience with the Africantreatment centers. But we’re learningfrom these frontline centers what ittakes to provide treatment whileoperating in countries where theeffects of human rights abuses are

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Building a Healing Network in Africa

From page 1

still extensive. What is amazing forme is to hear these intense storiesand be here where people opentheir lives to us. It is a privilege towork here.”

Bringing it all together

The THI-Africa partners willgather every six months for week-long workshops. InternationalServices Consulting Clinician ErinMorgan and consultant CraigHigson-Smith led the first workshoplast fall. CVT counselors from theDRC, a professor from theUniversity of Lubumbashi andcounselors from the torture treatmentcenters in Kenya, Cameroon andUganda attended the conference.

“This training focused on thebig picture and all of the clinicaltools needed to bring about healingin torture survivors,” explainedErin. “We discussed essential clinicalskills, how various psychologicaltheories relate to torture and howeven the layout of a center or atherapy room is important for healing torture survivors.”

“But one of the most importantaspects of the workshop, and thewhole THI-Africa project, is theprofessional relationships that aredeveloping. The counselors arelearning so much from supportingeach other. They’re becoming a network of healers who will helptorture survivors learn to rebuildtheir lives.”

THI-Africa andCVT’s work in the DRC is fundedby the EuropeanInstrument forDemocracy and Human Rights(EIDHR) and the U.S. Department ofState’s Bureau of Population, Refugeesand Migration (BPRM).

International ServicesConsulting Clinician ErinMorgan and consultantCraig Higson-Smith ledAfrican counselors during a workshop. “This trainingfocused on the big pictureand all of the clinical toolsneeded to bring about healing in torture survivors,”explained Erin.

International ServicesProgram Manager SuzannePearl with Ngoy-FiamaBitambile Balthazar, Dean of the School of Psychologyand Educational Sciences atthe University of Lubumbashi.CVT is partnering withUniversity of Lubumbashi faculty to develop educationalmodules to teach Congolesepsychology students counseling skills.

Dinah Kituyi, George Ouko and Eunice Olawo workwith the IMLU torture treatment center in Kenya.CVT is partnering with African treatment centers to strengthen healing services for torture survivors.

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In 2008 60,000 refugees entered theUnited States. Many of these menand women experienced torture,

rape, imprisonment or other wartraumas. Too often, they suffer fromongoing mental health problems butdon’t receive the help they need.

A collaboration between the Centerfor Victims of Torture, the Universityof Minnesota and community orga-nizations has developed a valuabletool for screening refugees whomight need mental health care.

Through a series of focus groups,University of Minnesota facultyPatricia Shannon, Ph.D., andElizabeth Wieling, Ph.D., determinedthat many refugees living inMinneapolis and St. Paul displaysymptoms of extreme trauma,

including depression, flashbacks and suicidal feelings.

Based on the focus groups, Shannonand Wieling wrote screening questionsfor public health and primary careproviders to use when working withrefugees.

“Refugees from Somalia, Burmaand other countries don’t use termslike ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety,’”explained Shannon, who is also aconsultant with CVT. “This screeningtool uses simple words for mentalhealth concerns. It’s a preliminaryassessment to determine if someoneshould be referred to a counselor fora formal evaluation.”

Local primary care clinics andpublic health workers will beginusing the tool and giving feedback

Healing in Partnership

Restoring the dignity of the human spirit

717 EAST RIVER PARKWAY www.cvt.org MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455 cvt@cvt.orgToll Free 1-877-265-8775

© 2010 Center for Victims of Torture

All rights reserved. Please contact CVT for permission

to reproduce this newsletter or any part of it.10-NB5

You have made a real difference in the ability of the Center forVictims of Torture to heal the

wounds of torture on individuals,their families and their communities…and to stop torture worldwide.We are deeply grateful for yourcommitment and generosity.

In today’s uncertain economicclimate, we’re hearing from manydonors looking for creative ways tocontinue bringing hope and healingto thousands of torture survivors.

In the first four months of 2010,forty people have committed tomaking a contribution to CVT everymonth. These dedicated supportershave joined nearly 300 other donorswho, with their regular monthlygifts, make up CVT’s Circle of Hope.Each month, our Circle of Hope is

growing because of people like you.

When you commit to making a small contribution each month, youmake a big difference in the lives oftorture survivors around the world.Your monthly gifts of $10, $15, or$25 generate significant supportfor rebuilding the lives of torturesurvivors and preventing the use oftorture worldwide. Monthly giftscan be made easily with automaticcredit card charges or fund transfers.

If you’re ready to join Circle of Hope, please contact Ashley at612-436-4892 or abennett@cvt.org.You can change or stop your contributions at any time. Thankyou for your continued commitmentto CVT’s hope and healing.

Become a Part of the Circle… Circle of Hope!

Patty Shannon and Liz Wieling arecollaborating with CVT to create arefugee mental health screening tool.

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on its outcomes this summer.“By working with community

leaders and health care providers wecan create a system to identify themental health concerns of refugeeswhen they first arrive so they cancreate healthy, productive lives,”said Wieling. “Ultimately we hopethat this tool will be a model forother cities and states.”

Make a Difference in the Life of a Survivor

Your generous support brings healingto torture survivors worldwide. CVTwelcomes all types of donations.

• Monthly Sustainers allow for ongoing planning and delivery of healing services.

• Planned Giving continues yourlegacy of support.

• Gifts of Stock support survivorswhile offering tax benefits todonors.

• In-Kind Donations of specific itemsimprove the lives of survivors.

• Tribute Gifts celebrate events ormemorialize loved ones.

Donate online at www.cvt.org, send a check to 717 East River Parkway,Minneapolis, MN 55455, or call 1-877-265-8775 for other ways to give.Thank you for your ongoing commitmentto healing the wounds of torture.