Words Matter: The Impact of Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Policies on Clinicians and Patients: A 3-Part Webinar Series

* This webinar will be provided in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish *

In today's socio-political climate, the language we use matters more than ever. Join us for a thought-provoking and insightful three-part webinar series that explores the profound impact of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies on both clinicians and patients from BIPOC communities. Each webinar is designed to empower clinicians including Community Health Workers with practical strategies and insights to enhance their clinical practice, challenge stereotypes, and advocate for policies that promote health equity. We would like to express our gratitude to the donors of W2W's "Words Matter" fundraising campaign for making this webinar series possible. Your support helps us continue providing essential resources to clinicians. If you would like to contribute, we invite you to donate here and join us in making an impact.  

Three Part Series
 

Words and Policies Do Harm: Supporting Clinicians Serving Immigrants

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Duration: 1 hour

This webinar, the first in our three-part series, features expert insights on how negative rhetoric and restrictive policies impact immigrant patients' well-being. Learn practical frameworks and concrete strategies to support your patients and address the challenges clinicians face when working under these difficult conditions. Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable tools to enhance your ability to serve and advocate for your patients.

Presenters

Kaethe Weingarten, PhD

Kaethe Weingarten, Ph.D., is the founder and advisor of the Witness to Witness (W2W) Program for Migrant Clinicians Network. Dr. Weingarten is the former Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and founder of the Program in Families, Trauma, and Resilience at the Family Institute of Cambridge. Dr. Weingarten’s internationally recognized work focuses on the witnessing model, addressing the impact of witnessing violence and trauma, as well as the challenges within healthcare, illness, and disability. 

Pamela Secada-Sayles, MPH

Pamela Secada-Sayles, a Peruvian-born first-generation college student and is empowered by her ethnic roots, family, and community. She holds a Master’s in Public Health from UCLA and a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies from California State University, Fullerton. Currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California, Pamela’s research focuses on how organizational and leadership practices have impacted employee well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jessica Calderón

Jessica Calderon distinguished herself in her undergraduate studies in psychology for her excellent technical and interpersonal skills. At Texas State University (TXST) she studied cultural competency, mental illness and human relations. Calderon works with Pamela Secada-Sayles in the Witness-to-Witness program with all aspects of the program.

Practices that Heal: Working with Latinx Immigrants Who Suffer Multiple Adversities

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Duration: 1.5 hours

Serious adversities of stress and trauma are often behind people leaving their home countries to escape violence and extreme poverty. Yet, the journey itself, the decision to leave loved ones behind, the adaptation to the new surroundings and the eventual family reunification is fraught with newly found deep challenges and adversities. All these events occur in the context of re-experiencing historical intergenerational trauma perpetrated by colonization and dispossession.

In these two presentations we will describe a non-stereotyped culturally responsive, socially just and strength-based approach to assessment and intervention with Latinx families in distress. We will also discuss trauma-informed care and strategies to support Latinx individuals and communities affected by adversity post-migration.  

 Presenters

Celia Falicov, PhD

Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, is an internationally known family therapy author, teacher, and clinician. A clinical psychologist, she is Clinical Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, where she is also Founding Director of Mental Health Services at the Student-Run Free Clinic. Past president of the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA), Dr. Falicov is a Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the American Orthopsychiatric Association and a recipient of AFTA’s Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Theory and Practice Award. She serves on the advisory boards of several family therapy journals. Dr. Falicov is well known for her writings on family transitions, migration, and cultural perspectives in family therapy practice and training. Her current work focuses on addressing the mental health care needs of underserved families, facilitating empowerment groups for Latino parents, and training medical students to take into account the impact of migration and culture on health risks and strengths.

Carmen Valdez, PhD

Carmen R. Valdez, Ph.D., is a professor, chief of the Division of Community Engagement and Health Equity and faculty director of Community-Driven Initiatives in the Department of Population Health. She is also a professor at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Valdez is a community-based participatory researcher with a special interest in mental health promotion and intervention with Latinx immigrant families. She is also interested in understanding the role of social policy, neighborhood and family factors on immigrant health. She aims to address health equity through partnerships, community-grounded research and mentoring of health equity scholars. She has collaborated with local residents, community organizations, binational organizations and city offices to improve health equity. In 2023, she received an award from the Society for Research in Child Development for her scholarly contributions to the understanding of Latino child development.

Prior to 2018, she was professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At UW she was the academic lead of the Latino Equity Collaborative, an advisory board of community and academic partners that leverages social capital, community experience and university research and resources to address educational and health equity for Latinos in Madison and across the state. Leadership on this and other projects, such as Fortalezas Familiares (Family Strengths) and the Lives of Immigrant Families, received recognition in the form of community engagement and excellence in diversity awards. While at UW, Valdez was the faculty director of the Advancing Health Equity and Diversity program, of the Collaborative Center for Health Equity, UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

At a national level, Valdez has actively contributed to the American Psychological Association. She chaired the APA’s Committee on Children, Youth and Families in 2015 and in 2017 was a member of the APA Working Group on Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She is currently a member of the Socioeconomic Status Committee for the same organization. She served as associate editor of the journal Family Process between 2017 and 2020.

Culture is key! Prevention of Farmworker Pesticide-Related Illness Using Cultural Contextual Education

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Duration: 1 hour

This webinar, the third in our three-part series, explores how clinicians, including Community Health Workers, can advocate for immigrant and migrant communities through a collaborative model rooted in liberation psychology and critical consciousness. Learn practical strategies for forming partnerships with local immigration groups and creating trauma-informed spaces for empowering dialogues. Real-life examples will illustrate how advocacy can drive health equity and improve client outcomes. 

  Presenters

Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Domenech Rodríguez is a leading expert in addressing health disparities through her scholarship, teaching, and mentorship. Her research focuses on cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions to improve access and treatment effectiveness for ethnically and culturally diverse populations. As a past president of the National Latinx Psychological Association and Psi Chi, and current editor of Family Process, she has also demonstrated leadership in advancing diversity and equity within the field of psychology.

Germán A. Cadenas, PhD

Dr. Germán A. Cadenas (he/his/él) is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University and the Associate Director of the Center for Youth Social Emotional Wellness. As an immigrant from Latin America, his community-based research focuses on the psychology of immigration and critical consciousness as tools for social justice. Dr. Cadenas' work has informed national policies, supported undocumented students, and addressed the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color. He also serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology and is on the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration and Health.   

Michelle A. Silva, PsyD

Michelle Alejandra Silva is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. As the Director of the Latino Behavioral Health System, she works to expand access to behavioral health services for the monolingual Spanish-speaking community in greater New Haven. Her work focuses on health equity, immigration-related trauma, and community-based mental health, bridging clinical practice, education, and research to support vulnerable populations.