Freedom from Torture - Manchester

Our medico-legal support service provides extensive and specialist training for our doctors who conduct forensic assessments of survivors of torture seeking asylum in the UK. Our remit criteria can be found on our referral form, which can be found here.

Service involves:

• Our specialist and highly trained doctors take an account of the survivor’s ill-treatment, as well as details of their background and physical and mental health.

• They conduct a full physical assessment, examining the scars and injuries attributed to torture, and a detailed psychological assessment.

• An interpreter will be provided for people who do not speak fluent English.

How to access:

We cannot accept referrals directly from survivors. Referrals must be made by the survivor’s legal representative.

In order to make a referral, please complete the referral form: https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/MLR-Referral-Form-Final-2025.docx

Freedom from Torture offers a range of services from our UK centres.

Services include:

• We offer trauma-focused therapy to help with the effects of torture. This can include symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder such as nightmares and flashbacks. We can also help with complex trauma, depression and other mental health needs.

• We offer further services to help our clients recover from their experiences and rebuild their lives. These can include creative group activities like music and gardening, social groups and physical therapy.

• For our clients who are seeking asylum, we also offer practical advice. For example, information about accessing housing and healthcare. We have interpreters who can attend therapy sessions and other services to translate.

How to access:

Please complete the referral form to request help: https://www.freedomfromtorture.org/help-for-survivors/therapy-and-practical-help/make-referral

We review requests every week and will aim to respond to you within 2 weeks. As a charity with limited resources, we need to prioritise our services to make sure that we help the people most in need of our support.