Psychotherapeutic treatment of accompanied and unaccompanied minor refugees and asylum seekers with trauma-related disorders in Germany

Abstract

Germany is one of the most important host countries for minor refugees and asylum seekers in Europe. The number of children who leave their home country has significantly risen worldwide in recent years; afurther rise is to be expected due to the increasing number of crisis zones. Aliterature review demonstrates the state of research on traumatization, post-traumatic stress disorders and psychotherapy in minor refugees and asylum seekers. Many minor refugees and asylum seekers have made mainly interpersonal traumatic experiences within their home country or during their flight and develop simple or complex post-traumatic stress disorders. Left untreated, there is arisk of chronification. The psychotherapeutic treatment of minor refugees and asylum seekers in Germany takes place primarily in specialized psychosocial treatment centers. For an involvement of therapists in private practices, areduction of organizational barriers as well as evidence-based treatment methods for interpreter-aided psychotherapy of minor refugees and asylum seekers that also consider their developmental state, are still lacking. In research, as well as in practice, there is further need for an early and systematic identification and treatment of minor refugees and asylum seekers with post-traumatic stress disorders or high risk of disease in Germany.