Citation

Halvorsen JØ, Stenmark H. Scand. J. Psychol. 2010; 51(6): 495-502.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Scandinavian Psychological Associations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00821.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Torture has severe mental health effects, especially in terms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. However, there is still a lack of empirical treatment studies. The present paper presents data on 16 torture survivors receiving 10 sessions of narrative exposure therapy (NET). Symptoms of PTSD and depression, assessed by Clinician‐Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), decreased significantly from pre‐treatment to 6‐month follow‐up, with Cohen’s d effect sizes of 1.16 and 0.84, respectively. Although treatment gains were moderate, further research on evidence‐based treatments for PTSD and depression in refugee torture survivors is warranted.