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In July 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a report urging the Venezuelan government to take immediate action to address the ‘grave violations of economic, social, civil, political and cultural rights’ occurring in the country. This case study highlights the human rights violations occurring in Venezuela through the case of a Venezuelan woman who experienced political persecution and traumatic loss resulting from her opposition to the ruling socialist party. As the clinical team of evaluators explored the mental health effects of surviving threats on her own life and the politically motivated assassination of her husband, it was agreed that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition did not fully capture the extent of her suffering. Case discussion broadens the lens beyond the client’s experiences of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression to include persistent complex bereavement disorder, and emphasises the importance of addressing the sequelae of traumatic loss in a multifaceted way that broadens understanding of emotional functioning postmigration.

Asylees (i.e., asylum seekers) have a higher prevalence of mental health concerns, particularly posttraumatic distress, than the general population due to both their exposure to traumatic experiences and prolonged uncertain status in a new country. Meta‐analyses of randomized controlled trials with asylees have found that culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy (CA‐CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and narrative exposure therapy (NET) are efficacious in treating trauma‐related symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, treatment utilization remains low. Thus, it is imperative to determine what PTSD interventions are effective, credible, and acceptable for asylees. We employed structured virtual interviews with 40 U.S. asylees from diverse countries living with one or more symptoms of PTSD. Participants were asked about treatment engagement, perceived barriers to treatment, goals for psychotherapy, and perceptions of the effectiveness and difficulty of engaging in CA‐CBT, EMDR, NET, and (non–exposure‐based) interpersonal therapy (IPT) for PTSD. Participants perceived IPT to be significantly less difficult than all exposure‐based treatments, with medium effect sizes, ds = 0.55–0.71. A qualitative analysis of asylees’ comments provided valuable insights into how they think about these treatments. Ways in which these results can be considered when informing recommendations for improving interventions for asylees are discussed.

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