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Module 1: Trauma, Recovery and Torture Survivors

Scenario 2: A spiritual crisis

The client is a Christian woman in her 40s who had been volunteering in poor Christian neighborhoods
in her country when she was abducted by the military, raped and detained for a month. Her abductors
threatened her with death if she did not convert to the dominant religion of the country.
She resisted and was repeatedly
beaten. She lost consciousness
several times. The client shared that
she was thrown into a spiritual crisis
during her torture, as she was not
able to feel God’s presence with her
no matter how hard she prayed for
that. Over the course of the past
six months in treatment with a
clinician (for whom you have been
interpreting), the client works through
the spiritual crisis she has struggled
with and reports that her faith and
belief in God have been strengthened. Beaten volunteer

a) What would you identify as the survivor’s vulnerabilities?
b) What would you identify as the survivor’s strengths?
c) What do you think helps this person be resilient?
d) What feelings do you experience when hearing a story of great courage?

Scenario 3: Surviving a civil war

Ana, a mother of five and grandmother of three, narrowly escaped from her country in the midst of a
civil war. She managed to lead her own family members through a mountain pass she used for trading
and crossed the border to a safer neighboring country. After seeing that her family were fed and settled,
she went back over the pass to look for her best friend and neighbor.
She had to hide in the forest for hours at the edge of her village when she saw that the military forces
were still there, looting the houses and killing those they found left behind. The next day, after she felt
certain that the military were gone, she went to the home of her best friend and neighbor and found
her hiding in a secret compartment behind the closet. Her friend was terrified and weak. Ana carried
her back into the forest, fearing that members of the military might return.
After comforting her friend and feeding her with nuts and fruit she brought with her, Ana led her friend
over the pass to safety. Ana managed to find a way to take her entire family and her friend with her
to Canada and has found full-time work as a caregiver for an elderly man.
a) What would you identify as the survivor’s vulnerabilities?
b) What would you identify as the survivor’s strengths?
c) What do you think helps this person be resilient?

d) What feelings do you experience when hearing a story of great courage?

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