The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has recently been
established as a useful construct in children and adolescents, and is also now
held to be a helpful framework when describing symptoms in refugees or survivors
of war. This article reviews existing models of PTSD and existing evidence for
treatment efficacy in both adults and children, and leads on to discuss the
application of the Ehlers and Clark (2000) cognitive model to work with children
and adolescents. The difference between techniques such as exposure and
cognitive restructuring is examined. Two vignettes illustrate the practical
details of working with young refugees with PTSD, including both exposure and
cognitive restructuring in different phases of therapy, the importance of a
collaborative formulation, and the importance of parental support during
treatment as well as cultural and language factors specific to refugees.
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