Trauma, Mental Health and Healing: Preparing Clinicians to Work with Immigrants and Refugees

This workshop will provide an overview of the legal classifications and context of migration for arriving immigrants and refugees in the United States broadly, and those arriving in Illinois specifically. We will explore how mental health is defined across cultures and current symptomatic trends we are seeing in the field. This will provide the context for how we understand culturally-sensitive clinical practice with trauma-exposed immigrants and refugees, and allows for discussion around transnational integrative practice as an approach to aligning Western models of clinical treatment with non-Western populations. We will further examine mental health delivery models, evidence-based approaches currently in use, and common themes in treatment, including the role of interpreters/culural brokers in the therapeutic process. Finally, the workshop examines strategies of engagement, and common denominators of effective clinical practice with immgrants and refugees, with a focus on building resources networks and ongoing professional development.

Aimee Hilado, PhD, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a PhD in Social Work, with Distinction, from Loyola University Chicago, and a M.S. in Applied Child Development from the Erikson Institute. Dr. Hilado is an Assistant Professer at Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, where she teaches Social Work Practice with Immigrants and Refugees, and serves as the Curriculum Specialist for the area of Human Behavior in the Social Environment.

4.0 CEUs for licensed social workers and counselors.

There is a $40.00 fee (plus $10.00 for CEUs), payable by credit card with E-Pay, or by check.  Payment is due before the class date. Dupage County Employees: Contact Michele Piver (630-221-7561) regarding payment. Sorry - no refunds for cancellations within 48 hours of class date. Please make checks payable to: DuPage County Health Department, Attn:  Michele Piver.