Refugee Trauma

Assessment and Treatment of Asian American Survivors of Mass Violence

By: Lee, E. and F. Lu.
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2:1

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 and the types of traumatic events leading to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other psychological sequelae, the occurrence of similar events in Asian 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.

My Mother's Purple Dress

By: Lee, E. Oberst, G.
Making Waves: An Anthology of Writings by and about Asian American Women
Asian Women United of California (ed.)

The story of a Vietnamese woman in San Francisco General Hospital Inpatient Psychiatric Unit is told side-by-side with the trauma surrounding her flight from Viet Nam and migration to the U.S. When presented thus, her bizarre behavior becomes exceedingly clear as having originated from her traumatic history.