Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common diagnosis in high risk populations such as refugees and survivors of child abuse. However, the study these populations challenges key assumptions of the PTSD concept, such as the focus on a single index event and the neglect of social threat. Clinical, observational and experimental studies indicate that the consequences of trauma are more complex, and might depend on the type of traumatic events. At the same time, simple and pragmatic treatment approaches, such as Narrative Exposure Therapy, are needed to meet the needs of survivors of complex trauma. This therapy makes use of the power of narrations for the contextualization of trauma memories to reduce PTSD.