The devastating effects of armed conflict on women's psychological and social wellbeing have been documented and studied in recent years, leading to the inclusion of psychosocial programmes as standard practice in humanitarian intervention with conflict affected women. However, they have rarely been asked to define and operationalise psychosocial wellbeing in their own voices and within their own context, and thus it has been difficult to determine the effectiveness of such programmes. This has left the evidence base for effectiveness thin.

As members of an international nongovernmental organisation that operates across a variety of income contexts, and works with local counsellors to co-create local capacity in contexts ravaged by atrocities and deprivation, the authors offer their experiences with Narrative Exposure Therapy. The authors have found Narrative Exposure Therapy to be an effective clinical and training tool where practical considerations allow it. These considerations, including the high level of counsellor skill and the individual modality the therapy requires, should not be underestimated

While agreeing that there are very few studies on Narrative Exposure Therapy, the author responds to the critique of Mundt et al. (elsewhere in this issue), by arguing that psychological interventions should not only, nor primarily, be evaluated by outcomes immediately after the end of the intervention. This is because psychological interventions, such as Narrative Exposure Therapy, aim to start a process of recovery that may continue long after treatment and eventually result in stronger change.