Culturally-Sensitive Therapy with Bosnian Refugees: A Preliminary Study

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Summary

The 1992-1995 ethno-religious war in Bosnia prompted hundreds of thousands of its citizens to leave the country and seek refuge in foreign lands (Hoare, 2007). Some refugees decided to seek mental health services due to their inability to function well in their new homes (Lieblich & Boskailo, 2012). However, Western treatment of war-related suffering with Bosnian refugees has shown mixed results. Summerfield (1999) argued that war-related suffering should not be reduced to a medical problem (e.g., PTSD) and highlighted that refugees’ cultural context and interpretations need to be seriously considered. Based on Bosnian narratives, a composite case study is used to illustrate a culturally-sensitive treatment approach as well as to provide an extension of the Western conceptualization of “trauma.”