Fifteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

The migration experience can be arduous, dangerous, and in many cases traumatic. Upon arrival in the host country, immigrants often find an unwelcoming environment, face persecution, and fear detention and deportation. The loss of family and a support system, leave new immigrants vulnerable to stress and potentially mental health challenges. These challenges are typically expressed in psychosomatic complaints (Achetagui, 2005) that are not recognized by medical practitioners, leaving patients to continue to suffer without appropriate assistance. Even when symptoms are recognized as depression, grief, and other mental illnesses, there are not enough mental health providers that speak the languages of immigrants, who understand the migration experience and are of the communities they come from. This workshop engages participants in conversation about ways of meeting the mental health needs of new immigrants, and report on the findings of a participatory action research study between social workers (SWs) and community health workers (CHWs) in the state of Oregon, USA. Participants will have opportunity to explore the replicability potential in their own communities.