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MANAGING TRAUMA: Tips For Supporting Refugee

Teens in School, Refugee Resettlement,

& Other Contexts

November 29, 2017

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Welcome!Thank you for participating in this peer exchange and your interest in this very important topic! • If you need help trouble shooting during this presentation, email

info@brycs.org.• This Webinar will be recorded and archived. An evaluation will be

sent after the Webinar is completed.• As a courtesy, moderators have muted all phone lines. • During the Q&A session, please use the chat pod on the right to

submit your questions. Any unanswered questions will be posted and responded to on BRYCS Blog & Forum: http://brycsblog.blogspot.com/

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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services received $225,000 in competitive funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant 90RB007. BRYCS is financed 100% through Federal funds. The materials presented are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

Hugo Kamya, Ph.D.is Professor and Fulbright Specialist Roster Scholar at the Simmons College School of Social Work where he teaches clinical practice, trauma and narrative therapies. Originally from Uganda, Dr. Kamya came to the U.S. over 30 years ago, and began a career in practice and training in social work, psychology and theology. Dr. Kamya’s work has focused on immigrant populations, refugee families, and developing effective international partnerships. In 2003, he received an award from the American Family Therapy Academy for Distinguished Contribution to Social and Economic Justice in recognition of his work with refugees and unaccompanied minors.

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Lisa A. Fontes, Ph.D.works to improve mental health, social service, and criminal justice responses to people from diverse cultures—especially immigrants & refugees. She wrote the books:• Invisible Chains: Overcoming Coercive Control in Your

Intimate Relationship• Interviewing Clients Across Cultures• Child Abuse and CultureShe co-authored the BRYCS Curriculum on preventing child maltreatment for unaccompanied minors in federal facilities and has implemented this curriculum throughout the U.S. Fontes is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Massachusetts. She won the Cultural Competence award of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, she has volunteered with Somali refugees and homeless children.

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Agenda

1) Your relationship with refugee teens

2) The conversations: Addressing past, present & future

3) School matters

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Objectives

• Understand some of the dilemmas facing refugee teenagers

• Converse helpfully and meaningfully with refugee teens

• Intervene more effectively with the refugee teens, their families, and schools

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Refugee youth differ from each other!

• Not a monolithic group

• Have had varying experiences

• Undergo major developmental changes and challenges

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The teen’s age & what that means

• Birthdays are “iffy”

• Both “old” & “young” for their age

• The teen years in various cultures

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Culturally sensitive responses• No one group is the same• Language differences• Cultural expressions• Relationships with others• Beliefs and values

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Address safety

• In the school

• On the streets

• At home

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BRYCS. (2010). Child Abuse Issues with Refugee Populations (PART I)- Recognizing Suspected Child Maltreatment in Culturally Diverse Refugee Familieshttp://www.brycs.org/clearinghouse/clearinghouse-resource.cfm?docnum=2475

BRYCS. (2010). Child Abuse Issues with Refugee Populations (PART II)- Refugee Resettlement and Child Welfare: Working Together for Child Protectionhttp://www.brycs.org/clearinghouse/clearinghouse-resource.cfm?docnum=2479

When a young refugee is “in trouble”

• Trauma?

• Misbehavior?

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BRYCS Photo, Katrina Hobbs

Tips for your conversations

• Take time to hear their stories

• Be curious, and listen

• Listen for strengths & resourcefulness

• Engage in appreciative inquiry

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©istockphoto.com/Steve Debenport

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1) Build rapport• Show that you care—Addressing the

person• Nonverbal behavior• Your relationship can help heal past

wounds & serve as a model

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©iStockphoto.com/Eileen Hart

2) Listen to the feelings expressed• Collaborative inquiry

• Appreciative inquiry

• Hearing the unspoken

• Giving voice

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BRYCS Photo, Lee Phan Photography

3) Support survival strengths• Speak to what has survived

• Name the strengths

• Document and archive the strengths

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©iStockphoto.com/anitapatterson

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4) Encourage sense of agency

• Explore origins of agency

• Explore allies of agency

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Photo courtesy of www.startingoverutica.com © 2014 Krishna Bal Adhika

5) Detect co-morbidity: Appropriate referrals

• Listen to symptoms that mask other problems

• Note differential expression of symptoms

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Getty Images

6) Rebuild hope & a sense of the future

• Ask about moments of hope

• Name moments of hope

• Reframe hope moments

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©iStockphoto.com/oneclearvision

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7) Address loss experience as contextual suffering gains

• Explore loss• Contextual• Situational• Global

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BRYCS Photo, Lee Phan Photography

School Issues

• Examine challenges

• Academics

• Social

• Behavioral

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©iStockphoto.com/juanestey

8) Connect the teen with others

• Strategize with the teen

• Strategies for making schools & classrooms safer & more welcoming

• Community connections

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BRYCS Photo, Lee Phan Photography

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9) Understanding the students’ prior learning/school experiences

• Background• Academic challenges• Lack of preparation• Teacher expectations

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©istockphoto.com/Steve Debenport

10) Academic placement &appropriate accommodations for learning

• School preparedness

• Learning challenges

• Mental illness vs learning issues

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©iStockphoto.com/Luis Alvarez

11) Attend to teacher and parent expectations

• Congruence of expectations• Clash of values• Integrating the teen’s goals &

perspectives

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©istockphoto.com/Steve Debenport

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12) Use culturally appropriate learning opportunities/and teaching

• Language• Teaching methodologies• Use of interpreters• Linking to spirituality and religion

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BRYCS Photo / Courtesy of CSS Anchorage

13) Address differentlearning styles

• Visual

• Audio

• Verbal

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©iStockphoto.com/Mrloz

14) School challenges by gender

• Cross-gender contact/touching

• Clothing for girls

• Boundaries

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Photo courtesy of www.startingoverutica.com

Gym class hijabi tips:http://muslimyouthgirlsassociation.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-5gym-class-hijabi-tips.html

The alarming rise of female genital mutilation in Americahttp://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/health/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-explainer-trnd/index.html

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Using Interpreters

• Importance of interpreters

• Use of language

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BRYCS Photo

Fontes, L. (2008). Interviewing Clients Across Cultures. New York: Guilford Press.

Questions?

Please use the chat pod on the right to submit your questions.

Unanswered questions will be posted and responded to on BRYCS Blog & Forum:

http://brycsblog.blogspot.com/

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Additional ResourcesBlanco-Vega, C.O., Castro-Olivio, S.M., & Merrel, K.W., (2008). Sociocultural model for development and implementation of culturally specific interventions. Journal of Latinos and Education, 7(1),43-61.

Boyson, B… & Short, D. (2012). Helping newcomer students achieve success in secondary schools and beyond. Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics.

BRYCS. (2017). Collective Voices for Improving the Care & Reducing the Risk of Female Genital Cutting (FGC). http://www.brycs.org/clearinghouse/highlighted-resources-on-female-genital-cutting.cfm

BRYCS. (2010). Child Abuse Issues with Refugee Populations (PART I)- Recognizing Suspected Child Maltreatment in Culturally Diverse Refugee Familieshttp://www.brycs.org/clearinghouse/clearinghouse-resource.cfm?docnum=2475

BRYCS. (2010). Child Abuse Issues with Refugee Populations (PART II)- Refugee Resettlement and Child Welfare: Working Together for Child Protectionhttp://www.brycs.org/clearinghouse/clearinghouse-resource.cfm?docnum=2479

Chapman, C., Laird, J., Hill, N., & Ramani, A.K. (2011). Trends in High School Dropout ad Completion Rates in the United States: 1979-2009. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Fontes, L.A. (2005). Child Abuse and Culture: Working with Diverse Families. New York, NY: Guilford.

Fontes, L.A. (2008). Interviewing Clients Across Cultures. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Fontes, L.A. (2008). Interviewing Clients across Cultures: A Practitioner’s Guide. New York, NY: Guilford.

Fontes, L.A. (2010). Interviewing immigrant children for suspected child maltreatment. Journal of Psychiatry and the Law, 38, 283-305.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265678701_Interviewing_Immigrant_Children_for_Suspected_Child_Maltreatment

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Additional ResourcesFontes, L.A. (2015). Invisible Chains: Overcoming Coercive Control in Your Intimate Relationship. New York, NY: Guilford.

Fontes, L.A. (2017). Building Resilience After Trauma: Lessons from Chile. New York, NY: Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/invisible-chains/201511/building-resilience-after-trauma-lessons-chile

Fontes, L.A. (2017). Helping Refugee Children Cope. New York, NY: Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/invisible-chains/201706/helping-refugee-children-cope

Fontes, L.A. (2017). Keeping Refugee Children and Teens Safe. New York, NY: Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/invisible-chains/201708/keeping-refugee-children-and-teens-safe

Fontes, L.A. (2017). Translating Trauma: Foreign Language Interpreting in Therapy. New York, NY: Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/invisible-chains/201703/translating-trauma-foreign-language-interpreting-in-therapy

Jensen, L. (2005). The demographic diversity of immigrants and their children. In R.G. Rumbaut & A. Portes (Eds.) Ethnicities: Children of immigrants in America ((pp. 21-56). Berkley, CA: University of California Press.

Kamya, H. (2008). Healing from Refugee Trauma: The Significance of Spiritual Beliefs, Faith Community, and Faith-based Services. In Froma Walsh (Ed.). Spiritual resources in family therapy (286-300). 2rd edition. New York: Guilford Press.

Kamya, H. (2009). The impact of war on children: How children make meaning from war experiences. Journal of Immigrant and refugee Studies, 7, 2, 211-216

Kamya, H. (2011). The impact of war on children: The psychology of displacement and exile. In Kelle, B. (Ed.). Interpreting Exile: Interdisciplinary studies of displacement and deportation in Biblical and modern contexts. (pp.235-249). Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press.

Kamya, H. & Mirkin, M.(2008). Working with immigrant and refugee families. In Monica McGoldrick and Kenneth Hardy (Eds.). Revisioning Family Therapy: Race, culture and gender in clinical practice. 2nd edition. (pp. 311-326). New York: Guilford Press.(a revised chapter is coming out 2018 in 3rd edition)

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Additional ResourcesKamya, H. & White, E. (2011). Expanding cross-cultural understanding of suicide among immigrants: The case of the Somali. Families in Society, 92(4), 419-425.

Kamya, H. (2012). The cultural universality of narrative techniques in the creation of meaning. In B. MacKin, Newman, E., Fogler, J., & Keane, T. (Eds.) Trauma therapy in context: The science and craft of evidence based practice. (pp.231-246). Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association.

McBrien, J.L. (2005). Educational needs and barriers for refugee students in the United States: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 329-364.

Muslim Youth Girls Association. (2010). Top 5: Gym Class Hijabi Tips. http://muslimyouthgirlsassociation.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-5gym-class-hijabi-tips.html

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Types of Trauma. http://www.nctsn.org/trauma-types

Mendenhall, M., Bartlett, L., & Ghaffar-Kucher, A. (2017). ‘If you need help, they are always there for us.”: Education for refugees in an International High School in NYC. Urban Review, 49, 1-25.

Paat, Y. (2013). Working with immigrant children and their families: An application of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23, 954-966.

Paat, Y. (2013). Understanding the role of immigrant families’ cultural and structural mechanisms in immigrant children’s experiences beyond high school: Lessons for social work practitioners. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23, 514-528.

Presidential Task Force on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma in Children and Adolescents. (2008). Children and Trauma: Update for Mental Health Professionals. Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/children-trauma-update.aspx

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Additional ResourcesSchneider, S. & Kamya, H. (in press). Community-Based Services for Refugees and Immigrants: Utilizing Social Capital, Human Capital and Cultural Capital to Improve Family Functioning and Well-Being Among the Somali, Families in Society.

Tseng, V. (2006). Unpacking immigration in youths’ academic and occupational pathways. Child Development, 77(5), 1434-1445.

Watkinson, J.S. & Hersi, A.A. (2013). School counselors supporting African immigrant students’ career development: A case study. The Career Development Quarterly, 62, 44-55.

Yohani, S. (2010) Nurturing hope in refugee children during early years of post-war adjustment. Children and Youth Services Review, 32, 865-873.

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Contact Us

www.brycs.org | info@brycs.org |1-888-572-6500

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Lisa A. Fontes. PhD lfontes@rcn.com

Hugo Kamya, PhD hugo.kamya@gmail.com