The Asylum Process: Interdisciplinary Responses to Multifaceted Challenges

The National Capacity Building (NCB) Project at the Center for Victims of Torture is pleased to announce a half-day virtual training “The Asylum Process: Interdisciplinary Responses to Multifaceted Challenges”.

Wednesday, 8/16/23 from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST
(11:00 AM ET, 10:00 AM CT, 9:00 AM MT, 8:00 AM PT) 

Description

This half-day training will focus on the complexities of the asylum process from both a legal and therapeutic standpoint. Attendees will be made aware of some of the basics of asylum law, as well as recent changes and the “shifting sands” of policy. We will discuss the challenges associated with providing therapeutic services for recently arrived asylum seekers as well as those who have been in the US for many years and are stuck in the affirmative asylum backlog. Best practices for doing asylum evaluations – whether a one-time biopsychosocial evaluation, or an evaluation provided by a treating clinician – will be covered. Lastly, we will speak about advocacy; both for people and programs who are new to the field, as well as current stakeholders in our community are pushing forward in specified areas. 

Who Should Attend

Staff of torture rehabilitation programs that are funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement and/or are members of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs as well as others who provide services to survivors of torture. This session is designed for providers working with survivors of torture and forced migration populations across disciplines, such as: legal services, social work, psychology, psychiatry, medicine, and case management. 

Objectives

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:  

• Describe the legal processes involved with obtaining asylum.
• Recognize and understand recent changes to asylum law and policies to better triage and strategize programmatic interventions. 
• Identify best practices in providing clinical documentation for asylum cases – whether in one-time evaluations or for clients who are receiving ongoing treatment.
• Utilize effective therapeutic services for asylum seekers who have recently arrived or those caught in the asylum backlog.

• Employ advocacy techniques and identify areas where advocacy can be the most impactful. 

About the Presenters

Clint Carney
Government Affairs Manager | Survivors of Torture, International 

Walter Fendrich
Clinical Director | The Libertas Center for Human Rights

Katherine Mackenzie
Yale University School of Medicine | Director of the Society for Asylum Medicine

Dominique Quevedo
Managing Attorney | Immigration Access Workgroup at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)

Scott Roehm 
Washington Director | Center for Victims of Torture

Jonathan Ryan
Legal Services for the Center for Survivors of Torture in Texas | Jonathan D. Ryan Law, PLLC 

Hawthorne Smith
Director | Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture and President | National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs.

John Wilkinson
Director of Legal Services | Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture

Registration Information

This is a virtual online training.

Wednesday, 8/16/23 from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST.
(11:00 AM ET, 10:00 AM CT, 9:00 AM MT, 8:00 AM PT ) 

Certificates of attendance are available for participants who attend the session and complete the feedback survey.