RCT Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims

RCT holder et aktuelt, videnskabeligt seminar med retsmediciner Jørgen Lange Thomsen, Syddansk Universitet, i RCT’s kantine, Borgergade 13, København, mandag 12. oktober 2009 kl. 16-17.30 .


Jørgen Lange Thomsen er professor ved Retsmedicinsk Institut på Syddansk Universitet. Han deltog efter det israelske angreb mod Gaz...a i januar 2009 i en international undersøgelseskommission, som i april udsendte en 92-sider lang rapport: ”Final Report. Independent fact-finding mission into violations of human rights in the Gaza Strip during the period 27.12.2008 – 18.01.2009”.


Alle er velkomne. Gratis adgang. Forhåndstilmelding ikke nødvendig.
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by Dr. Peter Polatin, RCT, followed by a discussion (moderator: Dr. Bengt H Sjölund).

Functional restoration was an early application of ICF principles to the disease entity of chronic low back pain. It was subsequently broadened to address other musculo-skeletal and neuropathic pain syndromes. The bio-psycho-social mo...del, as opposed to the more traditional medical model, has greater utility when addressing not only the primary disease process, but also the social, environmental, familial, and cultural factors which are inevitably associated with chronic illness.

This presentation will: 1.) review current treatment options for chronic low back pain, 2.) discuss a bio-psycho-social contextualization of chronic low back pain as an example of chronic pain, 3.) point to the complicating factors of secondary and tertiary gain, 4.) review the basic elements of functional restoration and show how they incorporate a bio-psycho-social approach to this disease process. The utilization of pre-ICF body function (b) and activity/participation (c) categories resulted in the derivation of a monitoring and evaluation system to guide the treatment, which will be presented. An interdisciplinary approach incorporating the skills of psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, disability case managers, and physicians contributed to behavioral outcomes which were far superior to those of prior therapeutic approaches. An alteration of the randomized control trial will be discussed, which allowed initial validation of the treatment methodology. This was followed by three subsequent randomized control studies in different centers which further validated the therapy.

Finally, there will be a brief discussion comparing the development of this treatment approach to the challenges facing clinicians and researchers in the field of rehabilitation for victims of torture.
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Seminar ved Darius Rejali, Professor i Statskundskab, Reed College, Oregon, USA, og gæsteforsker ved Dansk Institut for Menneskerettigheder. Foredraget holdes på engelsk.

Efter præsentationen vil RCTs forskere indlede en diskussion om Professor Rejalis konklusioner set i lyset af RCTs globale forebyggelsesarbejde.

Resume...: Why do regimes, democratic or autocratic, persistently torture, how do they torture and what are the differences between the ways democracies and autocratic regimes torture? These are questions that Professor Darius Rejali poses in his book, “Torture and Democracy”. This book is probably the most prominent, thorough and comprehensive book on torture in existence. In this scientific seminar Professor Rejali will discuss the implications for prevention of torture in the light of the book’s conclusions.
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