Asylum seekers and refugees in Britain: The health of survivors of torture and organised violence

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Abstract
General considerations The effects of torture are an accumulation of those of physical violence and conditions of detention (unhygienic cells, inadequate diet) and the psychological consequences of one's own and witnessing others' experiences. When working with a survivor of torture, the essentials are time, a sympathetic approach, and, if language is not shared, a trained interpreter who is not a family member or friend. The initial focus should be on those events to which the patient attributes the symptoms, and the work should be patient led. A fuller picture may be built up over a period of time.