In seeking to ease the rehabilitation of refugees there has generally been a failure to take account of the complexity of the refugees' experience of suffering and loss. In this their psychological and emotional well-being as well as the social and economic aspects of the question have frequently been of only peripheral concern, and the response to the psychological impact of violence has been primarily focused on the concept of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This approach assumes a pathological response to stress that is both universal across different cultures and centred on the potential of pathologizing coping strategies that might be essential not only for survival but also for psychological well-being.