Working with Forced Migrants: Therapeutic Issues and Considerations for Mental Health Counselors

Abstract

The number of forced migrants arriving in the United States continues to increase. To provide effective therapeutic services and interventions for them, it is important for clinicians to understand the unique role that mental health professionals can play in improving the mental health of this diverse population. This article draws attention to the mental health needs of forced migrants and highlights considerations, such as medical, social, legal, cultural, and linguistic factors, that providing services to this population may entail. It also suggests ways in which counselors can actively, competently, and ethically address the social justice issues that impact forced migrants.