Having spent considerable time exploring the prevalence of trauma in society in general and in South Africa in particular, as well as the impact of trauma in terms of both symptoms and alterations to meaning, it is important to look at what can be done to address these effects. The discussion of interventions will include a focus on psychotherapeutic and alternative, community-based interventions as well as a brief section on pharmacotherapy or drug treatment. The chapter will also address interventions as they are formulated to assist individuals, groups and communities.

Dealing with the impact of traumatic events has long been the focus of psychotherapists, with Freud's early work in the 1800s as a prime example. However, with the formalisation and refinement of the diagnosis of Acute Stress Disorder(ASD) and PTSD, over the last ten to twenty years there has been renewed interest in treatment approaches for trauma, and a move to more research-based practice. There is a large array of therapeutic approaches to dealing with traumatic stress with considerable debate about the merits and demerits of various models of intervention. In addition to the more conventional ‘talking-based’ types of therapy and counselling, there are also more creative and body-oriented interventions. It is also not uncommon for psychotropic medication to be prescribed for trauma clients alongside psychotherapy.

As will be discussed further in Chapter 6, play therapy is also commonly used to assist traumatised children to process traumatic events. Over and above professional counselling and psychotherapeutic treatments that might be individual- or group-focused, the impact of traumatic events has also been recognised as significant by social and community groups. In many instances members of a particular geographical or value-based community have been known to spontaneously generate rituals and practices to mark and heal the impact of trauma, recognising that in addition to having individual effects, trauma damages interpersonal bonds and tests community cohesion. In some cases members of society, previously unknown to each other, who have undergone a similar traumatic experience have also developed mechanisms for sharing and support that transcend group psychotherapy. Such kinds of community-based initiatives have been particularly important in South Africa where professional services are not always easily available and accessible and where communal aspects of identity have been strongly inculcated in traditional African culture and belief systems.