MODULE 3: CONDUCTING PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS FOR ASYLUM AND PROTECTION

Thank you for your interest in Module 3: Conducting Psychological Evaluations for Asylum and Protection!

This training is designed to equip mental health providers with the foundations to begin conducting evaluations for survivors of torture, persecution, and human rights abuses. We have divided this module into five video segments excerpted from prior recordings of our live psychological evaluations workshop.

These videos are accompanied by a Psychological Evaluator Workshop packet that contains supplementary tip sheets, checklists, a sample affidavit, and affidavit template. In addition to these materials, each video description contains citations and links to additional resources on each subtopic. (Evaluators who join EAHR's network will also receive access to an extensive volunteer resource library of other articles, tools, and affidavit samples.)

Please note that the forms of persecution, torture and violence discussed in the EAHR Training Series are focused on those most typically experienced among the asylum-seeking populations we serve here at the Evaluation Alliance, but torture and human rights abuses occur everywhere, including in the United States. We must also acknowledge the complex factors that contribute to global inequities, wars, and persecution – including the role of the US government in destabilizing and exploiting many of the countries that survivors come from. It is especially important to engage in this work with cultural humility and to recognize that survivors come from countries with dynamic cultures, rich traditions, and nuanced histories that it is our ongoing work to better understand and confront our unconscious bias.

Please also be advised that the following videos contain several descriptions of persecution and abuse, as well as references to suicidal ideation and other severe symptoms that might be observed during an evaluation. We strongly recommend that you take a moment to consider your environment and your pace before starting this video series, and we encourage you to take pauses for breath, grounding, movement and reflection. 

All of the evaluations produced by our program are a testament first and foremost to the resiliency of the applicants that we work with, as well as the strength of the volunteers and interpreters who helped tell their story. We are grateful to you for your interest in joining this ever-growing community of evaluators committed to human rights and health justice, and we welcome connecting with you about any ideas for further improving this module.

Sincerely, 

The EAHR Support Team

Goal: Upon completing this section, participants will have received the workshop agenda, objectives and speaker biographies. Participants will additionally have a deeper understanding of the specific barriers that asylum-seeking communities are facing and how EAHR is working to address these on a local level.

Speaker Bio: Madeline Ewbank is the former EAHR Project Coordinator for the IRC office in Dallas, TX. Madeline has more than 5 years of experience working in legal and health services for refugee populations with a particular focus on serving individuals in immigration detention. She holds a BA in Middle East and North African Studies and Media Studies from Northwestern University.

Citations:

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University provides some of the most comprehensive data visualization out there on U.S. immigration court trends. We recommend anyone interested in learning more about asylum explore their wider database, but here are some of the specific reports we used preparing statistics for this introductory presentation: 

• • • Backlog of Pending Cases in Immigration Courts as of May 2022 
      https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/apprep_backlog.php

    • Asylum Decisions by Custody, Representation, Nationality, Location, Month and Year, Outcome and more 
      https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/asylum/   

    • Immigration Court Quick Facts 
      https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/quickfacts/eoir.html 

    • Judge-by-Judge Asylum Decisions in Immigration Courts  FY 2016-2021  https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judge2021/denialrates.html  

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Report to Congress on Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021 (2020). Retrieved August 23, 2023, from https://www.state.gov/reports/report-to-congress-on-proposed-refugee-admissions-for-fy-2021/.

Additional Resources:

• To learn more about refugee & asylum-seeking torture survivors in the United States, read this 2015 report from the Center for Survivors of Torture

Goal: Upon completing this section, participants will have a clear understanding of the expectations for preparation prior to a mental health evaluation appointment, as well as a general understanding of the psychological evaluation interview components and flow. Participants should also be prepared to implement basic techniques for trauma-informed approach and interviewing to minimize the risk of harm during an evaluation.

Speaker Bio: Christie Schmid, LICSW is the EAHR Clinical Support Coordinator at the IRC. Christie has been doing forensic psychological evaluations via HealthRight International and NW Health and Human Rights since 2013. Christie served as the former Clinical Manager of Trauma Services at Refugees Northwest, providing clinical supervision, training, and supporting the implementation of culturally responsive, trauma-focused care. Christie is a licensed clinical social worker with a wide range of experience providing counseling, psychological evaluations, advocacy, and healing care for survivors of interpersonal and gender-based violence, trauma, and war. Christie holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Washington and a Global Mental Health certificate from Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.

Citations:

Physicians for Human Rights. Examining asylum seekers: A clinician’s guide to physical and psychological evaluations of torture and ill-treatment. Cambridge, MA: Physicians for Human Rights, 2012.

Additional Resources:

• To view some sample country conditions reports, explore the Refugee Wellness Country Guides Library from Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services

• To view a mock psychological evaluation interview, watch Forensic Psychological Evaluation for Asylum Seeking Immigrants: A Case Example, developed by the Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy with support from Physicians for Human Rights, the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine, and the Cambridge Health Alliance Foundation

• To learn more about best practices for interviewing children, check out Trauma Informed Interviewing Techniques: A Toolkit for Attorneys and Other Professionals Working with Immigrant Children from the Stanford Center for Health Education and the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley

• To access handouts with additional guidance on interviewing survivors of torture and sexual violence, visit the Synergy for Justice Resource Library

Goal: Upon completing this section, participants should be able to strategically organize their affidavits into clear sections and numbered paragraphs that will communicate their clinical findings most effectively to the asylum officers, immigration judges, and adjudicators reviewing this evidence. Participants will also understand how to present their credentials to this audience, as well as common pitfalls to avoid that may inadvertently harm the asylum-seeker's claim or compromise their perceived objectivity in the eyes of adjudicators.

Speaker Bio: George Miller (they/them) is the former EAHR Senior Project Coordinator and has more than 5 years of experience leading & developing asylum evaluation programs. Throughout their career, George has worked extensively with recent immigrants and torture survivors and is particularly passionate about the intersection of immigration law, disability rights, and mental health. George earned a bachelor’s degree in Francophone Studies and Global Development and a post baccalaureate certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages from Seattle Pacific University. They hold a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Washington and a post-graduate certificate in Global Mental Health from Harvard University.   

Citations:

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("Istanbul Protocol"), 2004, HR/P/PT/8/Rev.1, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4638aca62.html 

Additional Resources:

• To access the updated 2022 Istanbul Protocol, click here to view the full document from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 

• To learn more about implementing the Istanbul Protocol, check out this webinar from the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims: Investigating Torture: Understanding and Using the Istanbul Protocol (June 1, 2022)

Goal: Upon completing this section, participants should be able to list key strategies for navigating logistical hurdles in detention, as well as the ways in which their clinical approach to evaluation interviews can be modified to address the heightened vulnerability and mental health distress that detained applicants may be experiencing. Participants will also be familiar with the resources offered by EAHR to support clinicians through this process.

Speaker Bio: Christie Schmid, LICSW is the EAHR Clinical Support Coordinator at the IRC. Christie has been doing forensic psychological evaluations via HealthRight International and NW Health and Human Rights since 2013. Christie served as the former Clinical Manager of Trauma Services at Refugees Northwest, providing clinical supervision, training, and supporting the implementation of culturally responsive, trauma-focused care. Christie is a licensed clinical social worker with a wide range of experience providing counseling, psychological evaluations, advocacy, and healing care for survivors of interpersonal and gender-based violence, trauma, and war.  Christie holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Washington and a Global Mental Health certificate from Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about the immigration detention centers near you by visiting Freedom for Immigrants' Interactive Detention Map and Detention Statistics reports.

Goal: Upon completing this section, participants will have a clear understanding of the resources, mentorship, and support offered to EAHR volunteers, as well as next steps to apply.

Speaker Bio: Pauline Khoury, MPH, PMP is the EAHR Program Coordinator at the IRC office in Seattle. Prior to joining the team at the IRC, Pauline served as a public health project manager with 10+ years of experience responding to humanitarian crises in the Middle East and North Africa, in which capacity she coordinated extensive trainings for the region's health professionals on war surgery and other disaster response topics. She holds a Bachelor's in Nursing from Université Saint Joseph, a Master's in Public Health from the American University of Beirut, a Master's in Business Administration - International Health Management from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, and a certificate in Health Emergencies in Large Populations from Johns Hopkins University.

Still have questions about whether an EAHR volunteer position is right for you? Contact the EAHR Support Team!