Treatment options for young people and refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder II

This chapter focuses on the effective treatments for PTSD which are used with young people, particularly young refugees. Comprehensive accounts of treatments and treatment efficacy for PTSD in young people have been provided elsewhere. The aims of this chapter are therefore twofold: first to describe the more established treatments for young people with PTSD, and second to look at all innovative treatment approaches that have been developed for young refugees. The chapter has an evidence-based perspective, and so provides data regarding the efficacy of the treatments described.In order to achieve these aims, it was felt necessary to describe the background to evidence-based practice. This will be followed by a summary of children's and adolescents' reactions to traumatic events, and salient developmental factors. The description of treatments begins then with the therapies for which there is currently most evidence, e.g. cognitive behavioural and related treatments, including group CBT and exposure therapy. Two other individual treatments -- EMDR and psychopharmacology -- will also be described in this chapter. There is then consideration of some innovative therapies that have been used for young refugees with PTSD, such as testimony therapy and narrative exposure therapy. Non-directive therapies such as art therapy are highlighted and discussed alongside the role of the family and its potential for involvement in treatment and any proposed management plan. Finally, attention is given to some contextual factors that will influence choice of treatments.

Book Section

English

Matthew Hodes
Angeles Diaz-Caneja

Hodes, M., & Diaz-Caneja, A. (2007). Treatment options for young people and refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder II. In A. A. Hosin (Ed.), Responses to traumatized children (pp. 40-65). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan