title: Prospective one-year treatment outcomes of tortured refugees: a psychiatric approach.
abstract: The treatment of torture survivors from diverse cultures has been a difficult task involving issues of loss, massive trauma, cultural style, and adjusting to a new country. Research on treatment outcomes has shown inconsistent results. This report presents a prospective one year treatment outcome of 22 severely tortured patients from Ethiopia, Somalia, Iran and Afghanistan. Treatment was provided by psychiatrists and counselors with interpreters from each culture involved. The specific treatment included psychiatric evaluation, medicine, education, supportive psychotherapy and assisting some social needs. All 22 were diagnosed with depression and 17 of these also had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Twenty of 22 patients showed marked significant improvement on all of the scales for depression, PTSD, disability, and quality of life. Medicine was particularly useful in treating depression and the symptoms of flashbacks, nightmares and irritability. Standard psychiatric treatment with evaluation, diagnosis, appropriate medicine, supportive psychotherapy and counseling by ethnic counselors provided good outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. kinziej@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kinzie
authors.forename: J Mark
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kinzie
authors.forename: Behjat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sedighi
authors.forename: Abdella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woticha
authors.forename: Halima
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Crystal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000346:Afghanistan / Q000208:ethnology; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000208:ethnology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D012998:Somalia / Q000208:ethnology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000628:therapy*; D014104:Torture / Q000523:psychology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult