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Special Competencies for Psychological Assessment of Torture Survivors Huminuik, Kirby

Abstract

In spite of the absolute prohibition against torture in international law, this grave human rights abuse is still practiced systematically and with impunity in the majority of countries around the world. Mental health professionals can play a positive role in the fight against torture and impunity, by developing competencies to assess the psychological sequelae of torture. High quality psychological evidence can help to substantiate allegations of torture, thereby increasing the likelihood of success in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings. This article will orient mental health professionals to issues specific to forensic assessment of torture survivors. It provides a brief introduction to the socio-political context of torture, reviews literature on the psychological sequelae of torture, introduces the reader to key competencies, offers information on strategies for producing documentary evidence and expert opinion, highlights ethical considerations and suggests areas for development in the field.

Item Metadata

Title
Special Competencies for Psychological Assessment of Torture Survivors
Creator
Huminuik, Kirby
Publisher
Sage Publishing
Date Issued
2016-11-04
Description
In spite of the absolute prohibition against torture in international law, this grave human rights abuse is still practiced systematically and with impunity in the majority of countries around the world. Mental health professionals can play a positive role in the fight against torture and impunity, by developing competencies to assess the psychological sequelae of torture. High quality psychological evidence can help to substantiate allegations of torture, thereby increasing the likelihood of success in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings. This article will orient mental health professionals to issues specific to forensic assessment of torture survivors. It provides a brief introduction to the socio-political context of torture, reviews literature on the psychological sequelae of torture, introduces the reader to key competencies, offers information on strategies for producing documentary evidence and expert opinion, highlights ethical considerations and suggests areas for development in the field.
Subject
forensic assessment; posttraumatic stress disorder; refugees; torture
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Series
University of British Columbia. CNPS
Date Available
2017-05-23
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0347553
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/61751
Affiliation
Education, Faculty of; Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of
Campus
UBCV
Citation
Huminuik, K. 2017. Special competencies for psychological assessment of torture survivors. Transcultural Psychiatry. 54(2): 239-259.
Publisher DOI
10.1177/1363461516675561
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Graduate
Copyright Holder
Sage Publishing
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International