Abstract
In the anti-immigrant context, the Latine community experiences particular challenges as they are prime targets of racism and xenophobia. The social construction of immigrants as a “threat” and “criminals” shapes political responses to migration and allows for the use of extreme practices, such as long detention periods, inhumane conditions, and other violations of human rights. As clinical social workers, a focus on the political and social context means that interventions can both be tailored to the individual or family’s particular lived experience and focus on changing the structural conditions that create trauma. This article highlights several theoretical and global perspectives necessary for clinical social workers to adequately meet the needs of Latine service users in the United States. These perspectives recognize and leverage the strengths of the Latine community and consider how the social context may impact individuals and families. Specifically, clinical social work practice grounded human rights, ethics, critical theories including an intersectional Latina feminist perspective, and an understanding of historical trauma will be discussed.
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Notes
The term Latine is used to describe individuals and communities with Latin American ancestry. The term Latine is a gender inclusive alternative to the commonly used masculine “Latino” to refer to the community. Latine was created by non-binary and feminist communities in Spanish-speaking countries. I used this term because it aligns with the values of inclusion, equity, and justice. The term promotes inclusion to those who have been marginalized by gender binaries and colonization. The term also acknowledges intersectional identities. See this website: https://elcentro.colostate.edu/about/why-latinx/ and Call Me Latine: https://callmelatine.wordpress.com/ for further information about this terminology.
The term service-user is used here as an alternative to client. The term service user includes those who are eligible to access social work services currently or who may anticipate a future need. This term also includes those who may have a need but choose not to use services currently available to them. Service-user organizations also reject a passive view of them as recipients, emphasize the importance of person first language, and believe that the service user should always be self-identifying. See Levin, E. (2004). Involving service users and carers in social work education published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Retrieved from: https://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide04/files/guide04.pdf. More importantly, in this context, the term is used because social work in Latin America largely uses the term “usuario” or service user. Not only does the term “client” not appropriately translate, but in the Latin American context, the term “usuario” transcends the fragmentation of social relationships as a result of capitalism and centers the recipient of services and the problematic situation they are facing that brings them to services. See Rébori, L. (2019). Usuario como categoría que enuncia a las personas destinatarias de los procesos de intervención en trabajo social. Intervención, 9(2), 45–60. It is also important to acknowledge that language is evolving and that even the term chosen here is up for debate.
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Villarreal Sosa, L., Castillo Martinez, M. Human Rights and Latina Feminisms: Implications for Clinical Practice with the Latine Diaspora in Anti-immigrant Times. Clin Soc Work J (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-023-00892-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-023-00892-0