Mental health interventions and priorities for research for adult survivors of torture and systematic violence: a review of the literature

Abstract

This research describes the development and findings of a literature review and analysis meant to inform the international torture and trauma treatment community. The review focuses on interventions that have been used among populations affected by torture, based on a review of journals indexed in commonly used search engines. Work on the review began in September 2008 and continued to be updated until March 2014. In total, 88 studies of interventions for torture victims were identified. Studies ranged from randomized controlled trials utilizing evidence-based treatments to case studies employing non-structured, supportive therapies. Based on the results of the analysis, we have included recommendations for interventions that demonstrate effectiveness in treating survivors of torture and other systematic violence who suffer from PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Priorities for mental health research for survivors of torture and other systematic violence are also recommended.

Psychological Treatments for the World: Lessons from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…First, there are alternative methods for categorizing and coding elements of psychological treatments (e.g., Dickens et al 2013, Weiss et al 2016). Although our taxonomy was feasible and had strong face validity and good psychometric properties, there are other approaches that could have been utilized for parsing and coding treatment elements.…”

Meta-analysis of interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in adult survivors of mass violence in low- and middle-income countries

“…More recently, Weiss et al. () published a review of the literature on clinical trials with survivors of torture and other systematic violence. Based on this review that included trials with different study designs, cognitive behavior interventions produce the highest treatment outcome among individuals with PTSD and/or depression.…”

“…Overall, Tol et al concluded that a number of the included trials had serious limitations in study design. More recently, Weiss et al (2016)…”

Theory of change for the delivery of talking therapies by lay workers to survivors of humanitarian crises in low-income and middle-income countries: protocol of a systematic review

“…While new research into scalable psychological interventions is expected to contribute significantly to the evidence base for lay-delivered talking therapies in LMICs, there is still a need to take stock of the existing literature. Several recent systematic reviews of psychological interventions for survivors of humanitarian crises are limited to controlled trials, 20 23 24 33 although others do include uncontrolled studies and, 34–37 in some cases, qualitative or mixed-methods studies as well. 21 22 38–42 Many of these reviews have identified examples where talking therapies are delivered by non-specialists who could be classified as lay workers; however, few differentiate between lay workers and other non-specialists, despite lay workers’ comparatively low level of qualification.…”