Sharing our Expertise Overseas

April 15, 2008

From Saddam Hussein's infamous prisons to the poisonous gassing of the Kurds to the ongoing war, the people of Iraq have endured seemingly endless trauma and turmoil.

In the U.S., the chaos that Iraqis experience may seem like a world away. But at Heartland Alliance, our work with survivors of violence, torture, and conflict pulls us deeply into these issues on a regular basis. Through our decades of work resettling refugees from all corners of the globe and treating survivors of torture at our Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture, we have developed effective approaches to help people overcome the physical and psychological effects of experiencing violence.

The Seeds of Our Work in Iraq

Our expertise in working with survivors of war and torture is one that many countries in the midst of conflict and strife do not have. As Iraq plunged into deeper civil turmoil after

2002, the need for medical and mental health care grew exponentially.

Recognizing that we could offer a unique skill set that might help Iraqis begin a process of healing, Heartland Alliance established a presence in Iraq in 2004. Our early work in the country was focused on training mobile primary health care specialists to Kurdistan in northern Iraq, providing much needed medical access to locals. Heartland Alliance focused on teaching health care practitioners how to help traumatized Iraqis cope with horrific past experiences. Such mental health care was virtually unheard of in the country.

"Heartland Alliance has had a significant impact," says Sherizaan Minwalla, country director of Iraqi projects for Heartland Alliance. "Our programs have introduced a lot of new concepts and practices into the Iraqi health care system, and Iraqis have responded well to it."

Improving Mental Health Care in Iraq

With a professional staff of 20 in Kurdistan and five in the central Iraqi town of Karbala, Heartland Alliance's reach extends throughout the country.

"Rural areas are largely cut off from primary health care," says Scott Portman, director of international programs. "Heartland Alliance's experience in working with underserved and refugee populations is what makes our programs so effective in different environments."

Mental health care training is a key component of Heartland Alliance's work overseas. Our extensive experience in providing mental health care services to diverse populations in the Chicago region has equipped our professionals with the tools to create a culturally appropriate training manual and curriculum, to enhance the skills of mental health care workers in Iraq.

Heartland Alliance's training is hands-on, intensive, and sensitive to cultural and gender issues; it uses a combination of lectures, group participation, and practice exercises to educate practitioners. Addressing Iraq's cultural mores and norms is central to the curriculum's success. For example, training encourages involvement by the families of mental health participants throughout the healing process, a novel concept in Iraq and one that will likely help to break down societal obstacles to seeking mental health services.

"There's a stigma against mental health care," Portman says. "We're removing that stigma with improved education and training."

Heartland Alliance's mental health training curriculum is so well regarded that copies have been requested by agencies in Afghanistan, where the need for trauma treatment is also critical. Treatment of mental health issues has been further enhanced by the opening earlier this year of Heartland Alliance's Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Violence, one of a handful of torture treatment centers in Iraq and the only one with a dual mandate of treating patients and training health care professionals. The Iraqi center will help individuals traumatized by violence, displacement, and torture, and experiencing post traumatic stress disorder, among other mental health challenges.

"Heartland Alliance's programs and services respect the cultural and religious traditions of the local people. It's about helping someone to survive, stand up, and go on in life," said Dr. Haithem Asedy, a physician working for Heartland Alliance in southern Iraq 

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