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The concept of ‘mental trauma’ and its transcultural application

Impaired ‘traumatic’ memory of disaster-affected populations has come to the forefront of humanitarian work. In this article, the application of the notion of ‘mental trauma’ by psychosocial intervention programmes, relating to the tsunami disaster, will be critically examined. It will be shown in which type of theoretical structure the guidelines’ notion of ‘mental trauma’ is rooted, presenting ‘traumatic’ experience as a division of the self, which is defined through agency and coherence. It will be argued that this entails a certain subjectivity of representation, which may not have transcultural validity. It is concluded that rehabilitation and development programmes after disasters have to integrate and address multiple levels, including community-level interventions, drawing on local coping strategies and resources.