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The purpose of this paper is to explore the defining characteristics of an interdisciplinary culturally sensitive approach to family therapy with traumatized refugee families affected by family violence. Furthermore, the paper aims to explore the mechanisms of change as seen from the perspective of the therapists.

Based on qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with therapists working in an interdisciplinary team as well as observations of treatment conferences, the study identified the ways in which therapists perceive the challenges faced by their patients, the ways in which positive change is facilitated within therapy and the characteristics of a culturally sensitive interdisciplinary approach to family therapy with traumatized refugee families.

The study identified a number of defining characteristics of the treatment model, which includes the interdisciplinary approach, treatment objectives and concrete interventions targeting these objectives.

Through a theoretically informed critical analysis of the data, the present study examined the defining characteristics of the treatment model as well as the mechanisms of change as perceived by the therapists.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of family functioning in the transgenerational transmission of trauma in a sample of 30 refugee families with traumatized parents and children without a history of direct trauma exposure from the Middle East.

Based on qualitative analyses of interview material, families were evaluated using theoretically derived dimensions of family functioning and placed in descriptive categories according to family cohesion, family flexibility, family roles, family coping, stressor pile-up, and marital problems. The association between these descriptive categories of family functioning and the child’s mental health as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was explored using point-biserial correlations, correlations, and multiple regression analyses.

In all, 22 percent of the variance in children’s SDQ scores could be predicted by whether or not the family experienced a pile-up of stressors and whether or not the family was characterized by role reversal between parents and children. Furthermore, a statically significant association was established between a total measure of adaptive family functioning and lower scores on the SDQ.

These findings suggest that the transgenerational transmission of trauma may be associated with family functioning and have implications for interventions at several levels.