Persecution as stigma-driven trauma: Social determinants, stigma, and violence in asylum seekers in the United States.

Objective: Existing literature documents high rates of experienced violence in asylum seekers. Despite this high prevalence, experiences of traumatic stress are neither necessary nor sufficient grounds for claiming asylum, without documented experiences of persecution. The aim of the current study is to better understand the role of co-occurring pre-migratory social determinants, stigma, and trauma on the experiences of persecution among asylum seekers in the United States.

Asylee perspectives on psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress.

Asylees (i.e., asylum seekers) have a higher prevalence of mental health concerns, particularly posttraumatic distress, than the general population due to both their exposure to traumatic experiences and prolonged uncertain status in a new country.

Unaccompanied migrant youth from Central America: Challenges and opportunities.

Unaccompanied youth from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras represent a growing demographic in communities nationwide. This vulnerable group often presents with early childhood adversity and repeated traumas that heighten their risk for poor mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Harsh and exclusionary policies that result in family separations, extended detention stays, and unequal access to healthcare further exacerbate suffering.

Surviving violent, traumatic loss after severe political persecution: lessons from the evaluation of a Venezuelan asylum seeker.

In July 2019, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a report urging the Venezuelan government to take immediate action to address the 'grave violations of economic, social, civil, political and cultural rights' occurring in the country. This case study highlights the human rights violations occurring in Venezuela through the case of a Venezuelan woman who experienced political persecution and traumatic loss resulting from her opposition to the ruling socialist party. As the clinical team of evaluators explored the mental health effects of surviving threats on her own life and the politically motivated assassination of her husband, it was agreed that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition did not fully capture the extent of her suffering.