Therapeutic Practice With Cambodian Refugee Families: Trauma, Adaptation, Resiliency, and Wellness

Abstract

Since the events of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants World Refugee Survey has reported that globally, refugees are moving about the world in numbers that are unparalleled. Cambodians are one community of refugees that are a growing part of the Asian American population; they have been spread out across the country in primarily poor urban areas and have few support services available to them, remaining a fairly invisible group in the United States. In this article, the authors examine Cambodian pre- and postimmigration history, culture, and refugee experience. Because family is the center of life for Cambodians, the authors stress that healing must occur within its context. As an illustrative guide, the authors present portions of two actual case studies involving multigenerational Cambodian refugee families.