Summary:

Listening to clients discuss details of traumatic experiences can be a challenging aspect of job responsibility when working with refugee and immigrant populations. Further, other factors can arise during the evaluation that impact the dynamic between the evaluator, client, and interpreter, and must be carefully considered to provide culturally sensitive and accurate interpretation.

 

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to identify strategies for effective and culturally sensitive interpretation during immigration evaluations, use knowledge of nuances related to immigration evaluations to support evaluators and clients, and gain effective self-care coping mechanisms.

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Key Objectives:

This workshop will cover:

• Context, basic terms, and definitions related to different types of immigration evaluations in Colorado

• Cultural nuances and information for immigrant and refugee communities

• Role and responsibilities of interpreters

• How to manage vicarious or secondary trauma

• Advocacy and self-care aspects of work related to immigration evaluations

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Who Should Attend?

This workshop, focusing on immigration evaluations with refugee and immigrant communities, is for anyone who is either an experienced interpreter, aspiring interpreter, or interested in becoming an interpreter specifically in mental health. We also encourage providers and case managers who want to improve their collaboration with interpreters to join this workshop.

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Meet Your Instructor(s):

Dr. Marina Valdez (she/her/ella) is a bilingual (English & Spanish) Latina licensed psychologist based in Portland, OR. She has experience in college mental health, physician wellness, and trauma-focused therapy practice. She has worked in private practice since 2015 where she specializes in immigration evaluation work. Additionally, as the Director for Learning & Development at a nonprofit organization (IMPACT), she provides training, teaching, supervision, consultation, and outreach about immigration evaluation work and burnout prevention for mental health and legal providers working with trauma survivors.
 

Dr. Laura Ramzy (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a professor with the International Disaster Psychology: Trauma & Global Mental Health master’s degree program at the University of Denver. Laura identifies as Egyptian American and was raised by immigrant parents in Cleveland, Ohio. She has been involved in the local refugee and immigrant communities as a volunteer, clinician, researcher, and advocate for the past 20 years, including completion of mandatory behavioral health screenings for newly arrived refugees and pro bono evaluations through the Denver Health Forensic Asylum Program.