Announcement
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and in honor of this month, we are highlighting our Mental Health Department.
The IRC in Dallas is one of the few refugee resettlement agencies in the nation to have a Mental Health Program that works with one of the most vulnerable and hard to reach populations. By bypassing red tape, and offering free direct services to needy individuals, the program is creating lasting impact in the community we serve. We spoke with the Mental Health Program Coordinator about what makes the Dallas program unique and how it is changing the lives of the people being treated and those who are treating clients.
Chaundra Merrell, L.M.S.W., the Mental Health Coordinator, says that “Oftentimes these individuals are still uncertain of the process but the pain has gotten so heavy, they are desperate for relief.”
The Mental Health office set up for a session.
It is for this reason that first sessions begin with an introduction to Mental Health Literacy. While mental health is something that affects people no matter where they come from, the process can be shrouded in mystery and misinformation even to Americans.
A key component of Mental Health Literacy is teaching clients that just like it is okay to disclose physical pain, it is okay to disclose emotional pain. Another necessary part is giving a basic understanding of mental health. Teaching how trauma and stress can affect the brain and nervous system and how it can manifest itself in physical pain, relationship issues, memory, and other issues is important so the individual know why they are here. It also important to tell that these mental health services can help give ways to regulate emotions and help the client think more clearly.
Sessions can vary widely depending on the need of the individual but the overall process is one of clinical care paired with extended case management. Screening, assessments, individual and group counseling, medication consultation and management, narrative exposure therapy and even music therapy occur in the mental health department. Music therapy has been especially effective with both Afghan and Congolese populations.
“People come in here and bare their soul and they might not 100% realize what is going on at the start but at the end of 8-10 sessions, they experience relief. They gain agency over their body, mind, and emotions and are able to see a way forward.”
Mental Health staff and volunteers after leading a community training with Trauma Support Services of North Texas.
The Mental Health department at the IRC in Dallas is a one-of-a-kind evidence-based program. Started by the advocacy of one volunteer, Dr. Peter Polatin, in 2016, the program has grown to include ten staff members, volunteers, and interns working together to better the lives of refugees in Dallas.
In 2018 the program served 110 clients from 14 different nationalities and 13 different languages and in 2019 is expected to double in size.
The Mental Health Department is also unique in how it fosters healing environments. By partnering with ten universities for clinical field placements for Bachelor, Masters and PhD students, the program not only helps our refugee clients but is training up the next generation of mental health providers.
By exposing them to the clinical and cultural aspects of diverse populations, they are forced to figure out how to connect in safe ways outside of language and culture.
Chaundra Merrell says “it brings a different dimension to traditional therapeutic languages that are needed and used. You often have to change Westernized therapy to different cultures” and put your own cultural ideas aside.”
This can be seen clearly with a Syrian women who explained to the staff that sitting with her arms crossed while listening is a sign of respect in her own country but here, the same body language has a negative impression.
But through it all, the program is about the clients that is serves. When a cultural broker, a special interpreter trained on helping with mental health translations, was asked about her experience she answers, “I see how clients have hope for the future. How they can stand on their feet—moving forward, not continuing to dwell in the past…to continue life.”