Discussion Questions (General)

1. Discuss the four domains in which expertise is required for counseling refugees.
2. Why might refugees be reluctant to seek out help from a counselor?
3. What family problems are more likely to occur among refugees and how might counseling apply to those problems?
4. What might be some advantages of systems therapy as compared to individual counseling therapy in working with refugees?
5. What is the danger of developing counseling models for working with refugees based on maladjustment, dysfunction, or psychopathology?
6. How might a counselor emphasize positive adaptive skills that focus on the strengths of a refugee client?
7. Discuss the importance of coordinating and integrating different community services for counseling refugees.
8. What are four common myths about migrants?
9. What are the causes of refugee migration?
10. In what ways do refugees differ from other immigrants?
11. What are some of the impacts of premigration trauma on refugee mental health?
12. What is the relationship between premigration trauma and postmigration adjustment?
13. How does culture affect immigrant and refugee mental health?
14. How do expectations for treatment outcomes affect psychological interventions with migrants?
15. Discuss the appropriateness of using Western diagnoses with immigrant and refugee populations. What difficulties might arise from such an approach?
16. What are some of the reasons for the underutilization of mainstream mental health services by migrants?
17. Discuss the four major types of trauma that refugees experience.
18. What factors contribute to successful immigrant and refugee acculturation?
19. What are the impacts of racism and xenophobia on psychosocial adjustment for migrants?
20. How does survivor’s guilt contribute to mental health problems?
21. What are the implications of access to education and employment for migrant mental health?
22. How do changing family dynamics contribute to mental health problems for migrants?
23. What are some of the ways in which U.S. schools have not met the needs of migrant students?
24. Describe the family reunification process.
25. What are the effects of racism and discrimination on migrant mental health?
26. Describe the importance of cross-cultural empathy in therapists’ work with immigrant and refugee populations.
27. Describe the impact of political countertransference on the effectiveness of counseling and psychotherapy with immigrants and refugees.
28. Describe the importance of Phase I in the MPM.
29. How can therapists creatively adapt the Western model of psychotherapy (e.g., MPM Phase II) to work effectively with refugees?
30. Why is cultural empowerment an essential component of the MPM?
31. Why should mental health practitioners collaborate with indigenous healers when working with migrant clients? How could such collaboration be incorporated into mainstream practice?
32. How are issues of human rights and social justice important to migrants and related to the MPM?