Hemayat

Support center for survivors of torture and war

Qui sommes-nous

Hemayat is a non-profit organization supporting people who have suffered extreme trauma due to war or torture. The organisation was founded in 1994 in Vienna and has since been providing medical, psychological and psychotherapy treatment to clients living in the region of Vienna.

Our goals/aims:
The word Hemayat comes from the Arabic and means care and protection. Our work is aimed at anyone who has suffered extreme traumatisation from torture or war, affecting people long after the life-threatening events. The aim of the treatment is to restore the health, the ability to work and the social skills of our clients. Furthermore, we provide a basis for a successful integration process. Our service is basically free and independent of whether people are medically insured or not; it is available to people from all over the world. We help people learn to live with the consequences of terror, such as sleeping disorders, psychosomatic illnesses and bereavement, among others. Working with our clients, we search for ways of moving into the future and to successfully integrate in Austrian society.

Who we work with:
Hemayat is also linked to other integration institutions in Vienna and offers its services to other NGOs, government bodies, as well as to hospitals and other medical institutions. This development results in brisk cooperation with other institutions, such as Amnesty International, Diakonie, Caritas and Evangelischer Fluechtlingsdienst.

Services
• Within psychological and psychotherapeutic field various measures are taken to stabilise the mental state of the patient:
• Crisis intervention in cases of acute, life-threatening destabilisation, with clarification of whether or not in-patient treatment is needed;
• Where needed, psychiatric treatments are administered to help deal with patients suffering from more severe cases of trauma;
• Short-term therapies help patients to manage difficult phases of life and acute crises, and allow them to develop adequate strategies for their current stress situation;
• In long-term therapies clients are enabled to work through their traumatic events. Through the mental integration of the suffered trauma dissociative states can be reduced or removed. The socially crippling symptoms can be softened or relieved, and a perspective for the future in terms of integration in Austria becomes possible;
• Other treatment options include involving the patients with group therapy, art therapy, specialised womens therapy, childrens play therapy, and physical therapy including Shiatsu sessions;
• Public relations work: Hemayat contributes to the human rights dialogue and to the sensitisation of the worldwide affects of war and torture. With its presence in the media, lectures, discussions, workshops and publications, Hemayat tries to create a broader awareness of the situation of of torture and war survivors.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.