The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the deadliest the world has seen since World War II, with an estimated 5.4 million lives lost since 1998 (IRC 2011). The war, which started in order to depose a dictator and officially ended in 2003 with a peace accord being signed and the country's first democratic elections following in 2006, continues in a different form today (Economist 2011). The DRC has a history of economic activity taking place outside the official, legal ambit of the state, and this has persisted to date.

In this article, we reflect on our evolving ideas regarding a dialogical approach to refugee care. Broadening the predominant phased trauma care model and its engaging of directive expertise in symptom reduction, meaning making, and rebuilding connectedness, these developing dialogical notions involve the negotiation of silencing and disclosure, meaning and absurdity, hope and hopelessness in a therapeutic dialogue that accepts its encounter of cultural and social difference.

The social sciences have no particular claim to the use of the term “resilience.” The word has been in general circulation for centuries and over time has taken on a variety of meanings. In the past several decades, however, resilience has gained currency as a psychological construct, first in the developmental literature on chronic adversity (Luthar, 2003, Masten, 2001) and more recently in the literature on loss, trauma and other forms of acute adversity in adults (Bonanno, 2004).

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of trauma exposure on the posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) of children who resided near the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The mechanisms of this impact were explored via structural equation models with self-esteem and coping strategies included as mediators. The findings suggested that the effect of trauma exposure was partially mediated by self-esteem, which subsequently affected coping strategies and finally determined PTSS.