Video testimony of long-term hospitalized psychiatrically ill Holocaust survivors¹

This chapter explores whether addressing the issues would have any influence on the clinical state of individuals whose traumatic experiences lay in the distant past. It conducts a study exploring the value of video testimony method, pioneered by group of Chilean therapists. The chapter considers the study and its potential findings important since at the time and no one had investigated the value of this method in connection with Holocaust survivor patients who had been chronically hospitalized with mental illness. It explores the value of technique as a helpful clinical tool in order to address traumatic experiences resulting from the Holocaust, traumatic experiences that may not have been explored to the extent to which, perhaps, they should have. Important findings from the study include the following: In summary, study observations suggest the important value that video testimony may have in the management of posttraumatic symptoms in those with long standing comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric illness.