Recovery Factors Among Torture Survivors

The experience of officially sanctioned torture, as appraised by each survivor, informs his or her sense of self and others. For many, the worst thing in the world has happened and the experience cannot be erased.  Perception of self, others, and the world is altered. Clinical experts use the term resiliency to describe the ability of survivors to overcome the consequences and challenges of traumatic stress. We wanted to understand if torture survivors experienced themselves as resilient and what factors they considered important in their recovery. With the input of torture survivors, the subjective and necessary components of recovery can be better understood and inform programs how to improve their assistance.  Between November of 2012 and December of 2014, six focus groups with torture survivors receiving services at specialized programs in the United States were conducted.  Three groups were with women (N=22) and three groups with men (N=16). Participants were between the ages of 26 and 71 years old.  Ten countries were represented in the focus groups.  Interpreters and note takers were present and audio recordings were transcribed. The concept of resiliency was described to each group and six questions were posed asking survivors if they agreed with the concept and then to describe what helped them to recover from the experience of torture, exile, and resettlement. Emerging themes included sense of community, immigration status, and gender and may contribute valuable input for service programs and policies related to the recovery needs of torture survivors.