RCT offers rehabilitation to traumatised refugees who are
in need of interdisciplinary rehabilitation. Only patients who have
a Danish residence permit can receive treatment at RCT. In 2005,
RCT provided rehabilitation to 225 patients.
Since the foundation of the centre in 1982, the Danish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has financed the rehabilitation of
torture survivors. In 2005, however, RCT commenced negotiations
with Copenhagen Hospital Co-operation (H:S) about an operations
agreement. The agreement was concluded and entered into force on
January 1, 2006.
The agreement means that RCT is to receive patients from
the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, and from the
counties of Frederiksborg, Roskilde, Western Zealand and
Storstrøm.
RCT offers rehabilitation to people who have been exposed
to torture, organized violence or other severely traumatizing
events such as war, civil war and political
persecution. Further, RCT offers rehabilitation to family
members of the primarily traumatized person. People with present
substance-abuse, psychotic disease, severe personality disorder and
acute suicidal risk are excluded from treatment at RCT. Potential
patients have to have a residence permit in Denmark and a referral
from a physician.
A majority of RCT patients are are males with
heterogeneous educational and socio-economic backgrounds, currently
having significant socio-economic problems, low skills in the
Danish language, which causes the necessity of using interpreters
in the rehabilitation process, and that they are suffering from
multiple symptoms. The patients suffer from multiple problems such
as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, chronic
pain, poverty, isolation and various other social
distress factors as well as crisis and grief reactions.
These diseases are manifested in flashbacks, sleep disorders
and nightmares, isolation, concentration and memory difficulties,
loss of self-control, problems when being among other people,
sexual problems, physical pains, etc.