Assessment and treatment of Asian‐American survivors of mass violence

Abstract

This paper presents Asian‐Americans' experiences of mass violence with the hope of stimulating much‐needed research and clinical activities in this area. After a discussion of the literature on the types of traumatic events leading to Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other psychological sequelae, the occurrence of similar events in Asia during the past 40 years which may predispose Asian people to PTSD will be reviewed. Asian cultural coping styles which mitigate against or conceal PTSD will be discussed. Assessment and treatment methods tailored for Asian patients will be outlined. Finally, recommendations for clinical service, training, and research in this area with Asian patients will be presented.

A Meta‐Analysis of Hypnotherapeutic Techniques in the Treatment of PTSD Symptoms

“…The effectiveness of hypnotic techniques has also been shown in case studies of United States veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars with posttraumatic stress, though these are less compelling (Brende & Benedict, ; Degun‐Mather, ). Additionally, children and individuals of differing national origins have appeared to benefit from hypnotherapy as well, particularly after traumatic experiences (Friedrich, ; Lee & Lu, ; Lesmana, Suryani, Jensen, & Tiliopoulos, ).…”

Cultural competency and recovery within diverse populations.

“…Traditional tribal healing practices for Native Americans are tied to their tribal language, values and beliefs (Nebelkopf, & Phillips, 2004). African American, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, Hispanic, Latinos and Native Americans all have different practices that may involve the use of traditional healers, curanderas, shamans, medicine men, midwives, acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, herbal medicine, meditation, ho'oponopono, morita, naikan, t'ai chi ch 'uan, and yoga (Rezentez, 1996;Lee, 1997;Kendziora, Bruns, Osher, Pacchiano, & Mejia, 2001).…”

“…Failure to understand an individual's culture can result in misdiagnosis leading to inappropriate and poor quality of services (Lu, 2002;Lee, 1997;Hays, 2001;Ida & Yang, 2003;Davis, 2004). Failure to address culture implies that it is either not important, or worse, that it is something to "overcome" or deny as in the LGBT community.…”

Beyond Trauma

“…reasons. More generally speaking, it is important for the therapist to understand the cultural framework within which certain symptoms are evaluated, as well as the causal explanations implicit in any cultural framework (Lee & Lu, 1989).…”