New Book on Immigrant and Refugee Youth Mental Health!
With my colleagues Dr. B. Heidi Ellis (Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School) and Dr. Saida Abdi (University of Minnesota) I co-authored a book focused on evidence-based practice and systems capacity building for immigrant and refugee youth entitled, “Mental Health Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Youth: A Socioecological Framework.”
Available through Amazon and the American Psychological Association
Book Abstract:
Nearly 70 million people today are refugees or forcibly-displaced migrants. More than half of them are children suffering from the effects of dislocation and violence. This book provides a framework to guide mental health providers who work with refugees and immigrants. The authors describe the unique needs and challenges of serving these populations, and offer concrete steps for providing evidence-based, culturally-responsive care. Using the socioecological model, the authors conceptualize the developing child as living within concentric circles that include family, school, neighborhood, and society, embedded within a cultural context. Mental health providers identify and provide targeted support to combat disruptions within any or all of these ecological layers. Chapters examine the complex ways in which culture impacts the refugee experience, barriers to engagement in mental health practice and strategies for overcoming them, assessment, collaborative and integrated mental health interventions, and efforts to increase resilience in children, families, and communities. The book is an essential guide for mental health providers, and all who seek to help children in need.
Jeffrey P. Winer, PhD 