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The Debate About Trauma and Psychosocial Treatment for Refugees

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Refuge and Resilience

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Migration ((IPMI,volume 7))

Abstract

Accepted Western guidelines for the treatment of trauma survivors who are diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) demonstrate an emerging consensus with regard to treatment. All of the guidelines cite strong evidence for the inclusion of an exposure component to treatment. However, the accumulated evidence base for the treatment of patients with PTSD is drawn from trials that almost exclusively do not include refugees. The question this chapter explores is the advisability of using an exposure component to the treatment of refugees who have suffered traumatic experiences and who remain symptomatic. Do we have clear evidence that exposure techniques are necessary or even advisable to resolve the psychological difficulties that refugees experience? Based on a number of reasons, the authors suggest that in the first years of resettlement and adaptation, successful treatment should be focused on settlement issues.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Mount Sinai Hospital, Room 934, 600 University Avenue, M5G 1X5, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Clare Pain

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Pushpa Kanagaratnam

  3. Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Pushpa Kanagaratnam

  4. Health Network, Amnesty International (English Speaking) Canada, 1992 Yonge Street, 3rd floor, M4S 1Z7, Toronto, Canada

    Donald Payne

Authors
  1. Clare Pain
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  2. Pushpa Kanagaratnam
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  3. Donald Payne
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clare Pain .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center on Immigration and Justice, Vera Institute of Justice, New York, New York, USA

    Laura Simich

  2. Department of Psychiatry Equity, Gender and Populations Division, University of Toronto Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Lisa Andermann

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Pain, C., Kanagaratnam, P., Payne, D. (2014). The Debate About Trauma and Psychosocial Treatment for Refugees. In: Simich, L., Andermann, L. (eds) Refuge and Resilience. International Perspectives on Migration, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7923-5_4

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