Description:
Mental Health service providers can play an important role in the successful adjudication of the asylum process for traumatized migrant population. Our involvement is multifaceted and exists in a context full of challenges. This two part measured impact webinar, entitled “Psychological Issues and Techniques in Navigating the Asylum Process” is designed to help mental health service providers navigate these complex issues.
Over the course of the two sessions, we will examine the central goals and areas of potential intervention in the asylum process. We will look at the techniques of gathering pertinent clinical information and the most effective ways of transmitting that information – both in written form and as evidence presented in court testimony. A particular area of focus will be how to maintain boundaries in terms of being an expert v. an advocate; focusing on consistency as opposed to causation; and highlighting the distinction between what is possible and what is probable. Information will be imparted through discussion of best practices, but will be enriched by direct case examples that touch upon the central areas of inquiry.
Objectives:
Staff of all disciplines are encouraged to attend. After the MIW, you will be able to:
- Articulate the role that mental health professionals play in the asylum process
- Understand foundational concepts related to performing a psychological evaluation, including the goal of the evaluation and recommended techniques for how to effectively engage with
- clients throughout the process
- Understand foundational concepts related to providing expert testimony, including an understanding of its structural limitations and recommendations for conducting oneself in a courtroom setting
Presenter(s):
Carol Gomez, LCSW
Hawthorne Smith, PhD
John Wilkinson, MA
Resources:
Physicians for Human Rights http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/
Healthright International https://healthright.org/
Fundamentals of Providing Services to Torture Survivors: Legal Services eLearning http://healtorture.org/content/fundamentals-legal-services-part-1
Legal resources on HealTorture.org
PowerPoint: