Previously, I posed the question, “What is our role as family psychologists regarding issues involving the current immigration climate?” Sadly, I believe this question for me has generalized to, “What is our role as family psychologists in regard to the current political climate?” The current political climate has given psychologists plenty to discuss and challenged me to become more involved in social justice.
Recently, Jay Lebow (2018) referred to the current climate as “the worst of times.” Lebow discussed issues around racism, discrimination, inequality and threats to the acceptance of diversity and the impact of each of these on families. This is something that resonated with me in many ways, as it correlates with the plethora of worries that my close friends, colleagues and clients share about the political climate. Clients have come into my office expressing concern about the possibility of deportation, the impact of police brutality and of being on the receiving end of a microaggression dismissed by the aggressor because it has become in some way socially acceptable. Some clients stated these concerns have intensified in the last year and a half because of the administration.
When President-elect Corinne Datchi proposed a Social Justice Initiative, I knew I wanted to join and answer my own question of what is my role in the current political climate. Since beginning, we've outlined three projects and their impact on families. I see my role as attempting to bring awareness to the impact of an anti-immigrant climate on immigrant or mixed status couples and families.
It has been well documented that those immigrated to the U.S. display an array of hardships (Brabeck, Lykes & Hunter, 2014; Henderson & Baily, 2013). Undocumented adults experience a higher level of economic hardship, stress related to work, lack of knowledge of public resources and psychological and acculturative stress, which in turn impacts their children. (Brabeck, Lykes & Hunter, 2014). There are further risks and hardships endured if a parent or child is detained and/or they are separated from each other that include increased symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD (Rojas-Flores, Clements, Koo & London, 2017).
Given the link between being undocumented and the real threat of family separation and detainment, it is imperative that psychologists have an understanding of the impact of immigration, how we may be able to help clinically and what are other ways we can help.
Through the Social Justice Initiative, we hope to bring some of this awareness and knowledge from a systemic model. Given the recent political climate and the impact of immigration laws on couple and family disruption, our initiative aims to:
- Create and disseminate clinical resource guides for psychologists to increase awareness and provide resources on how to work with various immigrant populations, in addition to pamphlets and resources specific for clients.
- Create a webinar series to address the research and best practices for psychologists working with individuals, couples and families impacted by immigration.
- Research and create a best practice on how to conduct immigration evaluations for psychologists.
Should you be interested in joining our efforts or learn about the other projects, please reach out via email to me expressing your interest. Also, keep an eye out for updates on the Div. 43 website. This is our time to change the “worst of times.”
References
Brabeck, K.M., Lykes, M.B., & Hunter, C. (2014). The psychosocial impact of detention and family deportation on U.S. migrant children and families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5). 496-505.
Henderson, S.W., & Baily, C.R. (2013). Parental deportation, families, and mental health. Journal Of The American Academy Of Child And Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(5), 451-453. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.01.007.
Lebow, J.L. (2018). Editorial: The impact of the Trump administration on families in the United States. Family Process, 57, 589-593. doi: 10.1111/famp.12387.
Rojas-Flores, L., Clements, M.L., Koo, J.H., & London, J. (2017). Trauma and psychological distress in Latino citizen children following parental detention and deportation. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(3), 352-361. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000177.
Sidhu, S. S. (2017). Impact of recent executive actions on minority youth and families. Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(10), 805-807. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2017.07.779.