Program for Torture Victims traces its origins to two individuals: Dr. José Quiroga and Ana Deutsch.

These pioneers of the torture rehabilitation movement founded the first program in the United States dedicated to treating survivors of torture, before the practice was legally defined. As survivors themselves, they understood the challenges of coping with trauma while rebuilding a support system of friends, family, and employment.

In Chile, Dr. Quiroga served as a personal physician to democratically elected President Salvador Allende. He witnessed soldiers moving room to room, executing civilians during General Pinochet’s brutal U.S. backed military coup in 1973. Dr. Quiroga tended to those who were severely beaten and tortured, but fortunately, his life was spared. In 1977, he accepted a position at the UCLA School of Public Health and relocated his family to the U.S.

Meanwhile, Ms. Deutsch, a psychologist, fled Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’ in 1977, after threats of arrest by the military dictatorship for involvement in opposition activities. Her family joined her the following year after being released from prison, having been targeted and persecuted, like many others tortured under the military junta.

Founded in 1980, PTV is the first organization of its kind in the nation, helping heal the wounds of thousands of survivors of torture, through holistic health and wellness programs, empowering them to reenter society, reclaim their identities, and work toward a new life in the United States.