Brief therapy of civil war-related trauma: a case study

The incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder is widespread among refugees who have been exposed to violence or torture. Many families struggle with side effects of this condition, such as recurrent nightmares, flashbacks, emotional detachment, and difficulty trusting people. Some unwittingly become involved in a pattern of alcoholism, family violence, and somatic illness that is rooted in traumatization. Service providers must often struggle with overwhelmed clients whose multiple needs make long-term therapy impractical. Thus, brief treatment appears to be especially well suited to this population. This article describes a case study using short-term psychotherapy (10 to 20 sessions) that aims to restore refugees who are in reasonable emotional health to their premorbid level of functioning. A 4-stage treatment process involving specific tools is described, and the case study is used as an illustration. Contraindications for time-limited therapy are also outlined.