IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v67y2021i5p500-506.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Psychological torture: Characteristics and impact on mental health

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph El-Khoury
  • Riwa Haidar
  • Andres Barkil-Oteo

Abstract

Torture has been illegal in most of Europe and the United States for over a century but persisted in other parts of the world. The changing geopolitical landscape has led to its resurgence in recent years. The public rejection of traditional forms of torture that rely on the infliction of physical pain has paradoxically increased the reliance on psychological methods of torture. This critical commentary aims to define and characterize psychological torture (PT) while exploring practical, legal, ethical and therapeutic implications relevant to clinicians and policymakers. Psychological torture comes in a range of forms. It is being increasingly justified and adopted by legitimate authorities in the name of national security. The emphasis on the avoidance of physical pain leads to the assumption that PT does not produce the levels of suffering and harm that are associated with physically violent forms of torture. This same assumption has allowed for the implication of mental health professionals in theorizing and providing legitimacy for the actions of perpetrators. Psychological torture is still poorly defined with limited understanding of its long-term psychiatric impact on those who are subjected to it. The role of mental health professionals in preventing or addressing psychological torture remains ambiguous and needs to be reinforced.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph El-Khoury & Riwa Haidar & Andres Barkil-Oteo, 2021. "Psychological torture: Characteristics and impact on mental health," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(5), pages 500-506, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:67:y:2021:i:5:p:500-506
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764020961800
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764020961800
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020764020961800?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael J. Gilligan & Nathaniel H. Nesbitt, 2009. "Do Norms Reduce Torture?," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 445-470, June.
    2. Jaranson, J.M. & Butcher, J. & Halcon, L. & Johnson, D.R. & Robertson, C. & Savik, K. & Spring, M. & Westermeyer, J., 2004. "Somali and Oromo Refugees: Correlates of Torture and Trauma History," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(4), pages 591-598.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Hollifield & Eric C. Toolson & Sasha Verbillis-Kolp & Beth Farmer & Junko Yamazaki & Tsegaba Woldehaimanot & Annette Holland, 2021. "Distress and Resilience in Resettled Refugees of War: Implications for Screening," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Eric Neumayer, 2013. "Do governments mean business when they derogate? Human rights violations during notified states of emergency," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-31, March.
    3. Miller, Kenneth E. & Rasmussen, Andrew, 2010. "War exposure, daily stressors, and mental health in conflict and post-conflict settings: Bridging the divide between trauma-focused and psychosocial frameworks," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 7-16, January.
    4. Priebe, Stefan & Bogic, Marija & Ashcroft, Richard & Franciskovic, Tanja & Galeazzi, Gian Maria & Kucukalic, Abdulah & Lecic-Tosevski, Dusica & Morina, Nexhmedin & Popovski, Mihajlo & Roughton, Michae, 2010. "Experience of human rights violations and subsequent mental disorders - A study following the war in the Balkans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(12), pages 2170-2177, December.
    5. Horn, Tonya L. & Piescher, Kristine & Shannon, Patricia J. & Hong, Saahoon & Benton, Anna, 2017. "Experiences of Somali and Oromo youth in the child protection system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 10-19.
    6. Kent P Schwirian & Patricia M Schwirian, 2019. "Perceived Physical Health and Psychological Distress of International Refugees- The Case of Early Wave Somali Refugees to The United States," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 20(5), pages 15383-15388, August.
    7. David Whitsett & Martin F Sherman, 2017. "Do resettlement variables predict psychiatric treatment outcomes in a sample of asylum-seeking survivors of torture?," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 63(8), pages 674-685, December.
    8. Schippert, Ana Carla S.P. & Grov, Ellen Karine & Dahl-Michelsen, Tone & Silvola, Juha & Sparboe-Nilsen, Bente & Danielsen, Stein Ove & Lie, Irene & Bjørnnes, Ann Kristin, 2023. "Re-traumatization of torture survivors during treatment in somatic healthcare services: A mapping review and appraisal of literature presenting clinical guidelines and recommendations to prevent re-tr," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:67:y:2021:i:5:p:500-506. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.