An exploratory study of healing circles as a strategy to facilitate resilience in an undocumented community

Within the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical inequalities affecting undocumented communities and resulting in particularly heightened stress for members of these communities. In addition to the stress associated with COVID-19, immigrants in the United States were more than ever subjected to a hostile antiimmigrant climate under Trump's administration. Given this compounded stress, the impact of the pandemic on mental health is likely to be disproportionately experienced by undocumented immigrants. In response, a group of psychologists partnered with a leading immigrant rights advocacy organization and formed a reciprocal collaboration to support undocumented communities. A major focus of the collaboration is to foster learning, supporting members of the immigrant community to contribute to their own well-being and others in the community. Accordingly, the collaborative developed and delivered a web-based mental health education session to the immigrant community and to practitioners serving this population. The session presented the use of healing circles as a strength-based approach to building resilience and also sought feedback regarding specific features of healing circles that can enhance their effectiveness in managing distress. Survey data and qualitative findings from this study show that those who participated in the web-based program perceived the session as validating and informative. Findings also underscored the need for creating safe spaces for community members to be vulnerable about their lived experiences while promoting ownership of their narratives. We discuss practical implications pertaining to the development and facilitation of social support groups for immigrants led by nonspecialist community members trained for this role. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement We describe a reciprocal collaboration between psychologists and an immigrant-led advocacy organization for the purposes of supporting undocumented immigrants in tailoring culturally congruent therapeutic approaches for fostering resilience as they face multiple stressors due to interlocking crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and antiimmigrant policies. The collaboration led to the development and delivery of a web-based session that provided immigrant community members and practitioners with recommendations for facilitating healing circles as a strength-based and culturally responsive approach to fostering peer-led social support during stressful times. Findings highlight the need for creating such safe spaces for community members to be vulnerable about their lived experiences and feel validated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (Spanish) En los Estados Unidos (EE.UU.), la pandemia de COVID-19 puso en evidencia desigualdades criticas que afectan a las comunidades indocumentadas y que provocan un estres particularmente elevado entre sus miembros. Ademas del estres asociado con la COVID-19, los inmigrantes en EE.UU. se vieron sometidos mas que nunca a un clima hostil antiinmigracion bajo la administracion Trump. Dado este mayor estres, es probable que los inmigrantes indocumentados hayan sufrido de manera desproporcionada el impacto de la pandemia en la salud mental. En respuesta, un grupo de psicologos se asocio con una organizacion importante de defensa de los derechos de los inmigrantes y acordaron una colaboracion reciproca para apoyar a las comunidades indocumentadas. Uno de los principales objetivos de la colaboracion es promover el aprendizaje, apoyando a los miembros de la comunidad inmigrante para que incidan en su propio bienestar y en el de los demas miembros de la comunidad. En consecuencia, gracias a esta colaboracion, se desarrollo una sesion educativa sobre salud mental basada en Internet, que se impartio a la comunidad inmigrante y a los profesionales que atienden a esta poblacion. En la sesion se presento el uso de los circulos de sanacion como un enfoque basado en las fortalezas para fomentar la resiliencia. Asimismo, se recabo retroalimentacion sobre las caracteristicas especificas de los circulos de sanacion que pueden ser mas eficaces en la gestion del estres. Los datos de la encuesta y los hallazgos cualitativos de este estudio muestran que quienes participaron en el programa basado en Internet percibieron la sesion como informativa y promotora de sentimientos de valor. Los resultados tambien subrayaron la necesidad de crear espacios seguros para que los miembros de la comunidad se muestren vulnerables acerca de sus experiencias, al tiempo que se promueve la apropiacion de sus narrativas. Analizamos las implicaciones practicas relativas al desarrollo y la facilitacion de grupos de apoyo social para inmigrantes dirigidos por miembros de la comunidad no especializados que han recibido una capacitacion para esta funcion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Trauma in the American asylum process: Experiences of immigrant families under the migrant protection protocols.

OBJECTIVE: Latinx asylum-seeking families report posttraumatic distress that is 161-204% higher than in nonimmigrants, with adverse consequences for health and well-being. Recent U.S. policies have further embedded trauma in the asylum-seeking process by forcing families to remain in Mexico, enduring dire living conditions in tent encampments near the border while awaiting processing. These families are now entering the United States in large numbers. This article sheds light on their recent experiences and mental health needs, using a mixed methods-grounded theory design, presenting quantitative and qualitative data to describe the experiences of six asylum-seeking families who waited for 1-2 years in the refugee camp in Mexico. METHOD: Quantitative data was obtained from the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire while qualitative interviews provided insight into reasons for migration and trauma at different stages of the migration process. RESULTS: All participants experienced multiple traumas and endorsed trauma related symptoms. Important themes of psychological distress and trauma emerged, including unending suffering, hunger, and worry for the safety of their children while living in the refugee camp. Asylum-seeking families experienced substantial distress and trauma secondary to their stay in Mexico and COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Families arriving to the United States have experienced significant trauma, separation, and loss before and during their journey. Interactions with an unprepared and overwhelmed immigration system further compromises their psychological well-being. It is imperative that first-person narratives inform policy that addresses their complex needs and protects their human rights. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A Cross-sectional Study of the Mental Health Symptoms of Latin American, US Hispanic, and Spanish College Students Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Young adults and racial/ethnic minorities report the worst mental health outcomes during the COVID19 pandemic, according to the Center for Disease Control (2020). The objectives of this study were (1) to identify common mental health symptoms among Latin American, US Hispanic, and Spanish college students, and (2) to identify clinical features predictive of higher post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among this population. The study sample included 1,113 college students from the USA, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and Spain who completed an online survey containing demographic questions and mental health screeners. Findings revealed higher scores of depression, suicidality, and PTSS compared to pre-pandemic levels and current scores by non-Spanish speaking college students; however, less than 5% of participants endorsed clinical levels of anxiety. After controlling for demographic profiles and sociocultural values, clinical symptoms of depression, loneliness, perceived stress, anxiety, and coping strategies explained 62% of the PTSS variance. Age, history of mental illness, perceived social support, and familism were not significant predictors. This sample of college students revealed higher mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The high prevalence of PTSS highlights the need to develop pragmatic, cost-effective, and culturally sensitive prevention and intervention strategies to mitigate these symptoms. Implications for college administrators and clinicians are discussed.