How to Refer Clients to Spirasi

New Referrer Registration

The first time you wish to register a client online, you will have register as a new referrer using the following steps

  1. Go to www.spirasi.ie and on the home page click on the page that is relevant to you, e.g. Healthcare Professional’s page for GPs or Legal Advisors page for solicitors.

  2. Once in the relevant page, on the right hand side you will see a login screen, click ‘register new account’.

  3. You will then be taken to a screen where you fill in your basic details and select a password.

  4. Once done, click ‘register new account’.  You are now registered

  5. You will be taken back to the log-in screen, where you enter your email and password to log-in.

Referring Clients Online

 Any time you come back to the site to refer:

  1. Log-in using your email and password. 

  2. Once logged in, you will see on the right hand side of the page the referral form which you fill in with as much detail as possible and click ‘submit’ when finished.

  3. If entered correctly “Sent Successfully” will appear on your screen,

  4. If anything important has been missed, you will get an error message on screen and will be directed to those errors.

We believe this process will result in a more efficient and cost-effective referral service for both Spirasi and referrers. However, we acknowledge that some referrers may still wish to fill in referral forms by hand which is  why the forms will be still be downloadable here (IA Referral Form) and  continue to be available on request by email, fax or post.

if you have  any questions please contact Robert King at 01-8389664 or at robert@spirasi.ie

 

Who Should be Referred to Spirasi?

Spirasi is the rehabilitation centre for survivors of torture. Spirasi’s clinical department accepts referrals based on the United Nations definition of ‘Torture’. 

According to the UN Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ‘torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.’

 

Most of our clients have travelled here from a different country and therefore present as asylum seekers. Our clients suffer the effects of trauma not only due to their torture experience but also due to the traumas they endure on their journey to Ireland and the experiences they are faced with once they get here.

 

How to Recognise a Survivor of Torture

The impact of torture is multidimensional – physical, psychological, and social.

 

Physical

 

Psychological

 

Social
Scars 

 

Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

 

Panic attacks

Burns

 

Complex PTSD

 

Isolation

Untreated Injuries

 

Depression

 

Fear

Musculoskeletal Pain

 

Anxiety

 

Difficulties with trust

Nerve Damage

 

Dissociation 

 

Avoidance

Headaches

 

Flashbacks, nightmare, instrusive thoughts

 

Breakdown in social relations

Insomnia

 

Fear of Medical Procedures

 

Shame

Some Risk Factors for Torture

  • Refugee or Asylum Seeker

  • Leader of an opposition organisation

  • Relative of a victim who has suffered systemic violence

  • History of arrest or detention

  • Residence in flash point countries (i.e. Syria, Somalia)

  • Prisoner of war

  • Immigrant from a country with a totalitarian or military regime

  • Member of a minority group (religious, ethnic, political, social)

  • Past resident of a country experiencing civil war

(Weinstein, H.M., Dansky, L. & Iacopina, V. (1996) Torture and War Trauma Survivors in Primary Care Practice, ‘Historic Risk Factors for Torture West,’ Table 1, J Med, 165, 112-118 (updated flash point countries by Spirasi 2016)

Soical HealthcareCommon Types of Torture

  • Blunt Trauma: crushing injuries, whipping, beatings

  • Penetrating Injuries: gunshots, shrapnel, stab, cut

  • Suspension

  • Burns: chemical/thermal, cold/heat

  • Asphyxiation: wet, dry, chemical

  • Electric Shocks

  • Extreme Conditions: forced body positions and extreme cold/heat

  • Sexual Torture: sexual humiliation, trauma to genitals, rape

  • Mental Torture: direct threats, sensory deprivation, solitary confinement, mock execution, witnessing torture, uprooting