Traumatic Stress Among Refugee Children and Youth: Part I

Part I: Viewing Trauma Through a Developmental Lens

Switchboard is pleased to announce an upcoming webinar open to all refugee service providers, whether working at state agencies, resettlement agencies or affiliates, or other organizations. Please circulate this announcement widely among your colleagues! 

Wednesday, June 21, 2023 
1:00—2:30 PM ET

What will this webinar cover? 

Refugees and other newcomers often experience traumatic events before, during, and after migration. Depending on age and developmental stage, traumatic stress may impact children and youth in different ways: disrupting their daily lives, hindering adjustment to their new homes, and complicating their efforts to develop relationships with peers. This webinar will introduce the concept of traumatic stress as it relates to children and youth, including the impact on their attachment and common expressions of emotional distress. 

Is this webinar for me?  This training is designed for direct service staff, including case workers, medical case workers and other healthcare professionals, mental health professionals, educators, and other child- and youth-serving professionals who work with newcomer children and families.

Why should I participate? 

After participating in this 90-minute session, you will be able to: 

• Describe traumatic stress, resilience, and attachment in relation to children and youth who have experienced forced displacement 
• Identify common trauma-related reactions and behaviors exhibited by children and youth of varying ages and developmental stages 

Summarize key approaches to supporting children and youth who have experienced trauma as well as ways to help them heal and thrive in their new communities 

Speaker

Jordan Greenbaum, MD, is a retired child abuse physician living in Atlanta, GA, who has worked in the field of child maltreatment for over 20 years. She is the former medical director of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and past medical director of the Stephanie Blank Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She is also a board member of the International Society on the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and a past president of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.

Dr. Greenbaum has provided training and technical assistance to health professionals globally to improve the health sector response to child abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. She also provides training and technical assistance to other child-serving professionals regarding the trauma-informed, rights-based approach to interacting with children and families who have experienced trauma related to sexual, physical, or community violence, as well as forced migration.