Culture, race, and language are just a few factors that affect the way refugee and immigrant children define and see their traumatic experiences. Therefore, when providing trauma-informed care, child-serving professionals should take into consideration the unique needs and experiences of refugee and immigrant children and their families. Practicing cultural awareness, responsiveness, and understanding across child-serving systems is essential for improving the standard of care that these children and families receive. The NCTSN has several resources to help families, caregivers, and child-serving professionals provide trauma-informed care and support to refugee and immigrant children.
A Socio-Culturally, Linguistically-Responsive, and Trauma-Informed Approach to Mental Health Interpretation
Provides mental health clinicians and professional interpreters with information about a trauma-informed approach to mental health interpretation that is socio-culturally and linguistically-responsive to the needs of children and families receiving services. This resource guide describes frameworks for mental health interpretation, roles in a clinical setting, the interpreter and mental health clinician dyad, how to manage a session that needs interpretation services, secondary traumatic stress, supervision, values and ethics, as well as advocacy for better services for children and families needing interpretation services.
Trauma-Informed Care for Immigrant Children
Trauma-Informed Care: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Unaccompanied Children
Covers the impact of trauma on unaccompanied children during all phases of their migration journey. In this webinar series, nationally recognized speakers from NCTSN are joined by experts from the Irving Harris Foundation’s Professional Development Network to provide best practices for culturally-responsive and trauma-informed provision of services. This series features diverse expertise from the fields of refugee and migrant health, cultural studies, mental health, early childhood development, childhood traumatic stress, trauma-informed systems of care, and secondary traumatic stress.
Culturally-Responsive Approaches to Serve Latin American Children who Experience Traumatic Separation
Explores trauma-informed, culturally-responsive strategies for serving separated children who have migrated to the US from countries in Latin America. Speakers discuss policies and practices relevant to the protection and best interests of unaccompanied and separated immigrant children. This webinar provides an overview of a project providing mental health care and family navigation services for Latino immigrant families along the US southern border and community-based interventions in rural northern New Mexico. In addition, speakers identify clinical challenges and strategies for serving migrant children and families in a primary health care setting.
Mandated Reporting with an Immigrant Family Struggling with Acculturation and Developmental Trauma
Introduces Enrique Sanchez, a young immigrant father, who brought his seven-year-old son, Joaquin, to a new country without the rest of their family. Their therapist, Dr. Chang, discusses a difficult decision with Enrique, regarding concerns she has over Joaquin’s safety and the family’s future.
Reflections on Engagement with an Immigrant Child-Parent Dyad Recently Reunified
Shows the modern-day manifestations of the intersection of historical, intergenerational, and migration trauma and its compounding impact with present-day traumatic stressors on the parent-child relationship of an indigenous Guatemalan immigrant family. This webinar depicts significant emotional and relational themes faced by young children who come to the US as unaccompanied minors as well as themes that both the children and their parents face upon reunification. Viewers will also see a framework for engagement where the therapeutic relationship is used as a vehicle for the restoration of safety, co-regulation, protection, and hope in the parent-child relationship. This framework is aimed not only at repairing the child-parent relationship but also at exploring, acknowledging, and including the family’s historical and socio-cultural context in complex trauma treatment.
Trauma-Informed Care for Refugee Children
Understanding Refugee Trauma Fact Sheet Series
This fact sheet series provides information about refugee trauma for those working in child-serving professionals including child welfare workers, school personnel, mental health professionals, and primary care providers in or with the child welfare system. Describes the cultural, child, youth, family, and provider considerations that child-serving professionals should understand when working with this population. Also, it includes definitions to describe those who migrate to the US; potentially traumatic events that could occur before, during, or after migration; and how notions of safety, permanency, and well-being are shaped by culture.
- Understanding Refugee Trauma: For Child Welfare
This fact sheet provides information about refugee trauma for those working in or with the child welfare system.
- Understanding Refugee Trauma: For School Personnel
This fact sheet describes the school, classroom, individual, and family considerations that school staff should understand when working with this population.
- Understanding Refugee Trauma: For Mental Health Professionals
Outlines different considerations that mental health professionals need to take into account when working with refugee youth and their families.
- Understanding Refugee Trauma: For Primary Care Providers
Outlines different considerations that primary care providers need to take into account when working with refugee youth and their families.
Suicide and Refugee Children and Adolescents
Offers information about risk and protective factors as related to suicide and refugee children and adolescents. This fact sheet gives strategies for talking with refugee children and adolescents about suicide.
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This project was developed by the developed by the NCTSN Core Curriculum Task Force, and funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
