This study investigated the role of sense of coherence (SOC) as a mediator between demographic attributes of individuals (gender, age, economic situation, and exposure to traumatic events during the war) and two war outcomes (postwar stress symptoms and perceived posttraumatic recovery).

While there is substantial interest in trauma-specific psychodynamic individual therapy, this is not true for group therapies. Some general considerations will be put forward regarding the specificity of group psychotherapy with patients suffering from complex posttraumatic disorders. Especially, a good balance of resilience vs. problem orientation is recommended.

Refugee status decision makers typically have unreasonable expectations of what and how people remember. Many assume that our minds record all aspects of the events that we experience, and that these memories are stored in our brains and remain unchanged over time. Decades of psychological research has demonstrated, however, that our memories are neither so complete nor so stable, even setting aside the effects on memory of trauma and stress. In addition, our autobiographical memories change over time, and may change significantly.

Background: Torture continues to be a global problem and there is a need for prevention and rehabilitation efforts.There is little available data on torture survivors from studies designed and conducted by health professionals in low income countries. This study is a collaboration between five centres from Gaza, Egypt, Mexico, Honduras and South Africa who provide health, social and legal services to torture survivors, advocate for the prevention of torture and are part of the network of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT).