Worldwide, refugees often live through devastating experiences prior to fleeing their homes, including fearing or being close to death, seeing the death of loved ones and experiencing deprivation or torture (Cardozo, Vergara, Agani, & Gotway, 2000; Kleijn, Hovens, & Rodenburg, 2001). Unsurprisingly, research indicates increased risk of psychological distress and psychopathology amongst refugee populations (Fazel,Wheeler, & Danesh, 2005), and different psychiatric and psychological models
have been used to understand this. Many studies focus on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may be identified after individuals have experienced or witnessed traumatic events that are usually life
threatening or threaten physical integrity. Reviews indicate that PTSD is approximately ten times more likely among refugees than age matched native populations (Johnson & Thompson, 2008). In general, a dose response relationship is found between the number of traumatic experiences and the psychological stress that refugees experience (Steel, Silove, Phan, & Bauman, 2002).