I find myself a useless human being
"A Man with PTSD Resulting from Torture"

According to the client: "I feel that I am empty from everything; I look at myself and find myself a useless human being, I have nothing except breathing and moving, I have lost being a father to my 6 children, I have lost my manhood, I am shocked and I can not do anything, I am humiliated and I can not collect myself, I feel that I am a scattered individual, I have lost everything related to my homeland…." Started with those words, A.J, 43 years old married man and a father of 6, working as an employee of civil services organization in the Gaza Strip.

A.J. visited Gaza Community Center on December 28, 2006, two month after he was exposed to severe psychological and physical torture by one of the police detention centers in Gaza. He was brought to the police detention center as part of an interrogation of an incident of theft that took place at his place of work. When he was first brought to the detention center, he was asked to confess that he has perpetrated the incident. He was asked to do so without any evidence or charges against him and without detention order by the police.

When he first was brought to the detention center, he was slapped on his face harshly by one of the police officers. He was asked to take his shoes off, and was thrown into a solitary confinement cell, where he was suspended and a black sac was put over his head, abruptly. Beatings started on his leg and buttock. After exhaustion from beatings, a man entered the cell and stepped on him saying: that if he does not confess to the crime he committed, he will be charged with collaborating with Israeli intelligence and will be charged with a case that violates honor.

The torture experience lasted for 4 consecutive days, and after that, when he found that there is no hope of being released and not tortured, and facing all the threats, he had nothing to do but to confess of something that he did not commit.

Then, he was transferred to the prison, and was presented to the court two weeks later, where he was threatened by police officers not to talk about the torture experience that he was exposed to during the investigation. When he arrived the court, he showed them the scars and signs of the torture that he was exposed to. However, as a result of the intervention of the organization that he works in and their conviction that he had nothing to do with the case, the organization requested the authority to release him and close the file. There were evidences that contradict with what he confessed of under the torture experience.

It is noteworthy that during the torture experience, there was an insistence from two different police groups who were responsible for torturing to achieve victory of getting confession.

Accordingly, he was released and approached Gaza Community Center complaining of different symptoms, which are summarized in the following:

Sleep difficulties including; anxiety in the beginning of sleep, sleeping for less than 2 hours, nightmares, fear of going to sleep; Lack of concentration; Feeling of physical exhaustion; Feeling chocked; Continuous flashbacks of the torture experience; Feeling that what he was exposed to does not leave his memory; Feeling that he is dying as he remembers the event; Attempting to avoid thinking about the event and the accompanying images without success; Avoid talking about the event; Avoid passing in by the detention center where torture took place; If he has to pass by the place of the event, he feels stressed and he places his hands over his face to avoid seeing the place; He feels irritable and easily provoked; He feels sad; He feels trembling in his body; He lost his appetite and lost weight; His mood is depressed, and sometimes cries; He became and heavy smoker; He feels depersonalization; His social relations were impacted and tendency to be withdrawn inside his home; He stopped going to work; His sexual desire diminished; He has feelings of fear to be exposed again to torture; He feels pessimistic; He has feelings of anger and desire to revenge, but, feels powerless and helpless

The patient was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD, resulting from the physical and psychological torture he experienced.

A treatment plan was put for the patient by the psychologist of Gaza Community Center; the plan consisted of: Psychological intervention including debriefing sessions; Medication to help in treating some of the symptoms; A cognitive-behavioral therapy; A supportive psychological therapy, with the assistance of his director in the organization.

It is worth to mention that the treatment process lasted for 3 month at the Gaza Community Center, where the patient was seen by the psychologist for a session each week in the first month, then every two week for the 2nd and 3rd month.

After the treatment, the patient feels much quieter than before; His nervousness is less than before; He returned to his work on a regular basis; His social skills improved and he went back to his normal social routines with his family and friends; His feelings of remembrance of the event has diminished; His sleep has improved; His avoidance symptoms became to be reduced; His appetite has improved; Overall, he returned to his normal functioning