When the people of a country experience a traumatic event, the aid that is needed usually consists of tangible items: food, water, shelter, health care and so forth. However, Elizabeth and Stephen Alderman believe that treating the psychological scars of war warrants the same attention as treating the physical ones. “The way we’re wired, people get over physical torture pretty quickly. But mental torture — unless they’ve got appropriate treatment — they don’t get over it,” says Stephen, co-founder of the Peter C. Alderman Foundation.
Stephen and Elizabeth Alderman’s son, Peter, was 25 years old when he was killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks. After his death, Peter’s parents sought a way to do something in his memory that would help people. The idea of aiding those who had survived acts of terrorism dawned on Elizabeth when saw a broadcast on “Nightline” about torture, terrorism and mass violence. “Peter was killed because of terrorism. If we could help people who had survived, it would be a perfect way to honor him,” she says.To put it in perspective, one billion people (one-sixth of the world’s population) have experienced torture, terrorism or mass violence through civil war, ethnic cleansing or genocide. The psychological wounds of war are debilitating to entire populations. If left untreated, the mental trauma can prevent people from working, caring for their families, and leading productive lives. Stephen stresses that the cycle of traumatic depression has to be stopped because it can perpetuate for generations. “The abused becomes the abusers,” he says.
The Peter C. Alderman Foundation consists of various initiatives. In one key program, doctors from post-conflict countries are trained in methods to treat victimized populations. Another component of the foundation are its nine clinics around the world, the first of which opened in Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2005.
