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Background: Large numbers of refugees flee their countries of origin each year. A proportion of these people will have witnessed or experienced traumatic events and may be suffering from psychological distress requiring intervention.

Aims: The article aims to review the literature relating to the psychological treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adult refugees. The clinical implications of existing research and specific challenges faced by health services in meeting the mental health needs of non-western individuals are discussed.

Method: A literature search of English language journals was conducted using the Web of Science, Medline and PsycInfo databases.

Findings: There is a dearth of research in this area and the majority of studies conducted have significant methodological limitations. Despite this, the psychotherapeutic studies to date indicate some potentially effective treatments with …