Millions of people flee their countries each year to escape persecution and conflict and seek asylum as refugees (Amnesty International Australia 2011). Many refugees present and develop mental illness because they experienced or witnessed events such as rape, torture, war, imprisonment, murder, physical harm and genocide, before fleeing their home (Nicholl and Thompson 2004). Refugees now have access to mental health services for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) defined by the DSM-IV-TR is “characterized by the reliving of an extremely traumatic event accompanied by symptoms of increased arousal and by the avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma” (Manual diagnosis and statistics of Mental Disorders 2000). This disorder has many impacts and effects on refugees requiring treatment, interventions, education and a need to understand the cultural sensitivities of individuals. The DSM-IV-TR requires six criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. Criterion A defines the traumatic event, including any specificities linked to the event itself (criterion A1) and the response to the event (criterion A2). Criterion B refers to symptoms of reliving the trauma, Criterion C refers to avoidance of reminders and numbing of general reactivity to the event and Criterion D refers to symptoms persisting through hyper-arousal increased. Criterion E involves symptoms present for more than a month and criterion F involves disturbances that cause distress and impairment in areas of functioning (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 2000). It is classified as acute if symptoms last less than three months and if symptoms are present beyond 3 months...... middle of article ......ntary Medicine, vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 801-806.National Institute of Mental Health 2009, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), accessed 18 August 2011, .Nicholl, C & Thompson, A 2004, 'The psychological treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adult refugees: review of the current state of psychological therapies”, Journal of Mental Health, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 351-362.Shives, L 2005, Basic Concepts of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia. Smith, M & Segal, J 2011, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), accessed 17 August 2011. Tiziani, A 2009, Harvard's Nursing Guide To Drugs, 8th edn, Elsevier, NSW.