Abstract
In this chapter, we address several common family-related issues, which could necessitate seeking mental health treatment. A vignette is used as a framework for understanding four core stressors and clinical issues, which immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers experience. We also provide the reader with a 15-item assessment instrument, which can be used to augment traditional clinical interviews. This instrument focuses on acculturative, isolative, resettlement, traumatic stress, and resiliency factors, which serve to help immigrant families adjust to their new experiences in the United States and Canada. The following family-based clinical issues are discussed: (a) acculturative stress, (b) anti-immigration rhetoric, (c) differences in the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers relative to orderly migration, (d) stereotypes, (e) war-based conflict, (f) mental health stigma, (g) intimate partner violence, (h) physical punishment, (i) and other forms of abuse, neglect, and maltreatment. The chapter concludes with several therapeutic interventions, which have been found to be effective at addressing the unique needs of an individual, couple, or family.
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Notes
- 1.
It should be noted that this vignette is not based on an actual client, but draws upon the first author’s work as a clinical psychologist and experience working with immigrant and refugee families.
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Kaplin, D., Farrelly, D., Parente, K., Cohen, F. (2021). Providing Therapy with Asian Immigrant Families: A Review of Prominent Issues and Treatment Considerations. In: Chuang, S.S., Moodley, R., Gielen, U.P., Akram-Pall, S. (eds) Asian Families in Canada and the United States. Advances in Immigrant Family Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56452-0_13
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