Strategies for Engaging Immigrants and Refugees in Psychosocial Services

2010 North 59 Street,Kansas City KS 66104

30 March, 2023

Description

We will discuss strategies to talk about our immigrant and refugee populations about the importance of mental health. • Creating spaces for initial conversations about mental health • Assessing mental health challenges without a shared language • Language access and engagement strategies that cross language barriers • Evidence based formal and informal intervention strategies • Clinical limitations and challenges Panelists: Jonathan Blum, LMSW, is the Psychosocial Services Coordinator and Therapist at Catholic Charities of NE Kansas. He has 12 years of experience working with refugee and immigrant populations. He is trained in EMDR, an evidence based treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder commonly used for survivors of war and other traumas. He is also trained in Narrative therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and is a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Geography from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas. Talia Halfon is a Youth Therapist at Jewish Vocational Service here she works with refugees, immigrants and undocumented immigrants in the Kansas City area. Prior to working at JVS she was a middle school teacher and later, a school social worker at Kansas City International Academy. Talia's father was a Libyan refugee from WWII; he emigrated to the United States as a young adult, his experiences led her to do the work she does today. She holds a Bachelor's degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a Master of Education from the University of Missouri, Saint Louis, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver.