Caring for Victims of Torture [Hardcover]

James M. Jaranson (Editor), Michael K. Popkin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998 | ISBN-10: 0880487747 | ISBN-13: 978-0880487740 | Edition: 1

Since its beginnings in the 1970s, the field of torture rehabilitation has grown rapidly. A growing awareness about the practice of torture (more than 100 countries today practice government-sanctioned torture) and its effects on victims is leading to an increasing number of dedicated treatment centers. The health care professionals on the staffs of these centers need the best, most up-to-date information and advice they can get. This book delivers it. Caring for Victims of Torture contains all the collective wisdom of some of the most respected international experts in the treatment of victims of government tortureAall distinguished physiciansA-including pioneers in the field of traumatic stress. Contributors discuss the most recent advances in knowledge about government-sanctioned torture and offer practical approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of torture victims. Organized into six main sections, this annotated volume provides an overview of the history and politics of torture and rehabilitation; guidance in identifying and defining the sequelae of torture; a framework for assessment and treatment; specific treatment interventions; and a discussion of ethical implications. In the final section, physicians working in the field offer firsthand accounts and address how they are trying to balance politics with caregiving. Focusing on the physicianAs role, this book is chiefly a clinical guide. But for advanced-level students, it serves as a thorough, up-to-date text and reference work. Religious leaders, lawyers, politicians, human rights advocates, and torture victims themselves will find it a valuable resource as well.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[T]he overall coverage and topicality are commendable, and indeed some of the more clinical chapters will be found most useful by any professional dealing with this problem. I would like to see this well produced volume in the libraries of all those in this very challenging field."-- "Behaviour Research & Therapy"

About the Author

James M. Jaranson, M.D., M.A., M.P.H., is Director of Medical Services and Research, Center for Victims of Torture, in Minneapolis, and founder of the International Mental Health Program in the Psychiatry Department of St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center (now Regions Hospital) in St. Paul. He is also Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, and Director of the Cultural Psychiatry Training Program. He was a faculty member of the University of Minnesota Refugee Mental Health Technical Assistance Center, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. He is a member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. His academic background includes an M.D., an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Minnesota, a master's degree in Public Health from Harvard University, specializing in psychiatric epidemiology, and board certifications in both psychiatry and general preventive medicine. Michael K. Popkin, M.D., is Chief of Psychiatry at the Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, and Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Popkin was a member of the Minnesota GovernorÂs Task Force that advocated the development of the Center for Victims of Torture, and he served on the CenterÂs Board of Directors from its 1985 inception to 1989. Dr. Popkin is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago Pritzker Medical School. He interned at Bellevue-NYU Hospitals and received his psychiatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is past President of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, has been Vice-Chair of the DSM-IV Organic Disorders work group, and was Chair of the NIMH Mental Health Services Research Review Committee. He reviews for more than a dozen medical journals and has written more than 120 papers and chapters on a range of topics dealing with the interface of psychiatry and medicine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; 1 edition (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880487747
• ISBN-13: 978-0880487740
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)