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Testimonial psychotherapy is a therapeutic ritual for facilitating the recovery of survivors of human rights violations that focuses on sharing the trauma narrative. Originally developed in Chile as a method for collecting evidence during legal proceedings, testimonial therapy has been widely applied transculturally as a unique treatment modality for populations that are not amenable to traditional Western psychotherapy. In this case report, we first review the literature on testimonial therapy to this date. We go on to describe how testimonial therapy has been specifically adapted to facilitate recovery for immigrant survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). We present three Latin American women who underwent testimonial psychotherapy while receiving psychiatric treatment at a Northern Virginia community clinic affiliated with the George Washington University. The therapy consisted of guided trauma narrative sessions and a Latin- American Catholic inspired reverential ceremony in a Spanish-speaking women's domestic violence group. In this case series we provide excerpts from the women's testimony and feedback from physicians who observed the ceremony. We found that testimonial psychotherapy was accepted by our three IPV survivors and logistically feasible in a small community clinic. We conceptualize testimonial psychotherapy as a humanistic therapy that focuses on strengthening the person. Our case report suggests testimonial psychotherapy as a useful adjunct to formal psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress symptoms.

The ability to predict a person's risk of acute suicide is one of the most important skills in the practice of psychiatry. This article reviews the essential components of suicide assessment in a concise format meant to be learned and taught to psychiatrists at various levels of training. Strategies for assessing a person's existential state, imminent warning signs, lethality of planned suicide attempts, and protective factors in an empathetic, collaborative approach are reviewed. Finally, a brief overview of the Chronological Assessment of Suicide Events (CASE) approach, a well-validated approach to obtaining a thorough and empathetic suicide assessment that is useful in cases where suicidality is not obviously apparent, is given. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2016;46(5):293–297.]

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Testing for BRCA1 and BRAC2 deleterious mutations, and the subsequent decisions about prophylactic surgery, have an important effect on the psychological well-being of an individual. Studies have found that over time, the psychological well-being of at-risk women who test positive returns to baseline, and women at high risk who are tested and are found to be negative for the mutations have an improvement in their psychological state. However, at-risk women who decline testing were noted to have an increase in depression. Family dynamics play a role in each individual’s experience with BRCA testing. For women who test positive for BRCA mutations, choosing whether to have a prophylactic mastectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy are decisions that may affect self-image and psychological well-being. Multiple sources for psychological support are available for women who undergo the process of testing and decision-making about prophylactic treatment options. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2014; 44(7):329–333.]