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Report of the

APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration

CROSSROADS
T H E P S Y C H O L O G Y O F I M M I G R AT I O N I N T H E N E W C E N T U RY

American Psychological Association

Executive Summary

Crossroads
T H E P S Y C H O L O G Y O F I M M I G R AT I O N I N T H E N E W C E N T U RY

Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration

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Crossroads
T H E P S Y C H O L O G Y O F I M M I G R AT I O N I N T H E N E W C E N T U RY
APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration

Carola Suárez-Orozco, PhD, Chair
New York University

Dina Birman, PhD
University of Illinois at Chicago

J. Manuel Casas, PhD
University of California, Santa Barbara

Nadine Nakamura, PhD
University of La Verne

Pratyusha Tummala-Narra, PhD
Boston College

Michael Zárate, PhD
University of Texas, El Paso

Melba Vasquez, PhD (ex officio)
2011 APA President
Vasquez & Associates Mental Health Services

APA Children, Youth, and Families Office

Mary Campbell, Director

Alex Agiliga

Efua Andoh

Amani Chatman

Felicia Swafford

Kaitlin Varner

1 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

O
ne of the benefits of serving as president of
the American Psychological Association is
the opportunity to select projects or initia-
tives that are personally meaningful. The

topic of immigration surfaced as a priority for me and is
a topic of concern for many. Over the past few decades,
psychology—and APA in particular—has periodically
applied its science and knowledge to issues of societal
interest and social justice that may be the subject of media
attention, pending legislation, and/or court proceed-
ings. At times, the societal context and political focus on
social problems have influenced APA’s topics of study.
Immigration fell into that category, in my view. In addi-
tion, although I am fourth-generation Mexican American
(my parents were both born in the United States, and my
mother’s family lived in the Texas area when it was still
part of Mexico), I identify personally with the community
of immigrants.

Immigrants significantly contribute to the ever-
expanding diversity of the population of the United
States. Further, many challenges have resulted from inad-
equate federal immigration policy as well as anti-immigra-
tion legislation in several states. My Presidential Task Force
on Immigration, chaired by Carola Suárez-Orozco, PhD,
was charged with developing an evidence-based report
on the psychological factors related to the immigration
experience. Our hope is that increased understanding of
the psychological factors related to various aspects of the
immigrant experience will improve decision making with
regard to immigration. The effective integration of im-
migrants in educational, work, and community settings is
essential to the well-being of this country and its future.

A call for potential task force members was sent out,
and we were very pleased to have 99 experts respond who
were interested in serving on the work group. Unfortu-
nately, we could only choose six members. The six task
force members selected represent a high level of expertise

in the research on and study of the immigrant popula-
tion. Other nominees were invited to serve on an advisory
committee, and I am grateful that many provided reviews
of drafts of this report. I appreciate tremendously the ded-
ication and expertise of the task force members, advisors,
and APA staff members who devoted a significant part of
their working lives to contribute to this important project.

Their report describes, in broad strokes, the diverse
population of immigrants and then addresses the psycho-
logical experience of immigration, focusing on factors
that impede and facilitate adjustment. Specifically, the
report reviews the recent theoretical and empirical litera-
ture on immigration with the goals of raising awareness
about this growing but poorly understood group; deriving
evidence-informed recommendations for the provision of
psychological services for the immigrant-origin popula-
tion; and providing recommendations for the advance-
ment of training, research, and policy efforts for immi-
grant children, adults, older adults, and families.

This report represents the current state of psychologi-
cal scientific and professional knowledge with regard to
immigration. In particular, I hope that widespread nega-
tive views of immigrants and their children will be in-
formed and challenged by the increasing data available in
the literature rather than by ideological impulses and that
this data will reduce the “disconnect” between research
and policy.

Melba J.T. Vasquez, PhD, ABPP

President, American Psychological Association, 2011

Preface

3 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive Summary

T
he United States today has approximately 39.9
million immigrants—the largest number in its
history (Passel & Cohn, 2012; U.S. Census Bureau,
2011b). As a nation of immigrants, the United

States has successfully negotiated larger proportions of
newcomers in its past (14.7% in 1910 vs. 12.9% today) and
is far from alone among postindustrial countries in experi-
encing a growth in immigration in recent decades. Notably,
nearly three quarters of the foreign-born are naturalized
citizens or authorized noncitizens (Congressional Budget
Office [CBO], 2011). One in five persons currently resid-
ing in the United States is a first- or second-generation
immigrant, and nearly a quarter of children under the age
of 18 have an immigrant parent (Mather, 2009). As such,
immigrants and the second generation have become a sig-
nificant part of our national tapestry.

Just as this demographic transformation is rapidly un-
folding, the United States is facing international, domestic,
and economic crises (Massey, 2010). Like other historical
economic downturns (Simon, 1985), the current reces-
sion has served as a catalyst to make immigration a divisive
social and political issue (Massey & Sánchez, 2010). Across
the nation, immigrants have become the subject of nega-
tive media coverage (Massey, 2010; M. Suárez-Orozco,
Louie, & Suro, 2011), hate crimes (Leadership Conference
on Civil Rights Education Fund, 2009), and exclusion-
ary political legislation (Carter, Lawrence, & Morse, 2011).
Given the demographic growth, however, we now face an
“integration imperative” (Alba, Sloan, & Sperling, 2011)—
not only for the well-being of this new population but also
for that of the nation’s social and economic future.

Psychologists are, and increasingly will be, serving im-
migrant adults and their children in a variety of settings,
including schools, community centers, clinics, and hospitals,
and thus should be aware of this complex demographic
transformation and consider its implications as citizens,
practitioners, researchers, and faculty. This report aims

specifically to describe this diverse population and address
the psychological experience of immigration, considering
factors that impede and facilitate adjustment. The report,
which includes the recent theoretical and empirical litera-
ture on immigrants, (a) raises awareness about this growing
(but poorly understood) population; (b) derives evidence-
informed recommendations for the provision of psycho-
logical services for the immigrant-origin population; and
(c) makes recommendations for the advancement of train-
ing, research, and policy efforts for immigrant children,
adults, older adults, and families.

Guiding Frameworks

There are three guiding principles throughout this report.
First, immigrants are resilient and resourceful. Second,
immigrants, like all human beings, are influenced by their
social contexts; the report thus takes an ecological perspec-
tive in framing their experience. Third, as it is essential
to use the lens of culture with the increasingly diverse
immigrant-origin population, the report follows the APA
Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Prac-
tice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists (APA, 2002).

Immigrant Resilience

Within political and media discourse, immigration is gen-
erally framed as a social problem in need of solving (M.
Suárez-Orozco et al., 2011). Yet a careful reading of the
research from a variety of disciplines suggests that immi-
grants demonstrate a remarkable pattern of strengths (APA,
2007; Chiswick, 2011; Hernandez & Charney, 1998). This
body of data examining the well-being of immigrant-
origin populations across generations reveals a counterin-
tuitive pattern that contradicts conventional expectations:
First-generation immigrant populations demonstrate the
best performance on a variety of physical health (L. S.
Morales, Lara, Kington, Valdez, & Escarce, 2002), behavioral
health (Pumariega, Rothe, & Pumariega, 2005; Takeuchi,

http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/policy/multicultural-guidelines.aspx

4 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hong, Gile, & Alegría, 2007), and some educational
(Fuligni & Witkow, 2004; García Coll & Marks, 2011; C.
Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 1995) outcomes, fol-
lowed by a decline in subsequent generations.

Although many recently arrived immigrants face a
wide range of stressors and risks (e.g., poverty, discrimina-
tion, taxing occupations, fewer years of schooling, and so-
cial isolation), they do better than their counterparts who
remain in the country of origin, as well as second-genera-
tion immigrants, on a wide range of outcomes (Alegría et
al., 2007; Corral & Landrine, 2008; García Coll & Marks,
2011). Despite these strengths and evident resilience, im-
migrants also face a series of challenges in their new land.
Thus, while recognizing resilience, this report also consid-
ers a number of the challenges immigrants and subsequent
generations face across a variety of developmental phases,
focusing on the educational and clinical contexts where
psychologists are likely to encounter and serve them.

Social-Ecological Framework

The social contexts and resources of immigrants vary
widely, and they settle in an array of settings, some more
welcoming than others. This report uses a broadly defined
social-ecological theoretical framework, adapted from Bron-
fenbrenner (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) and others
(Serdarevic & Chronister, 2005). An ecological framework
proposes that the human experience is a result of reciprocal
interactions between individuals and their environments,
varying as a function of the individual, his or her contexts
and culture, and over time. In describing the immigrant
experience, this report focuses on the influence of con-
text—in particular, contextual risks and protective factors
that detract from or enhance healthy adaptation.

APA Multicultural Guidelines

Research suggests that culture—in the form of cognitive
schemas, value systems, and social practices—powerfully
shapes human experience (APA, 2002), including cognition
(D’Andrade, 1981; Rogoff, 2003), emotion (White, 2010),
and identities (Shweder & Sullivan, 1993). Immigrants
who have arrived in the United States over the last
4 decades represent a wide range of cultures, ethnici-
ties, and races. This diversity of cultural values, beliefs, and
practices provides a challenge to the practice and science
of psychology. Psychologists carry their own sets of cultural
attitudes that influence perceptions as they encounter the
culturally different (APA, 2002). Further, research strate-

gies including population definition, concept development,
measurement tools, and methodology and analysis choices
demonstrate cultural limitations (Hughes, Seidman, &
Williams, 1993; Solano-Flores, 2008; C. Suárez-Orozco &
Carhill, 2008). To effectively and ethically conduct research
and provide mental health services to immigrant children,
adults, older adults, and families, the lens of culture must be
used. The APA Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training,
Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists
(APA, 2002) can serve as a tool in promoting cultural com-
petence in the many roles and contexts in which psycholo-
gists work.

Contents and Organization
of THIS Report

This report begins by providing an overview of the new
wave of immigration, briefly considering the principal
motivations that propel migration as well as demographic
profiles of the U.S. immigrant population based on mul-
tidisciplinary research from demography, sociology, and
economics. Recognizing the significance of the receiving
social context to psychological functioning, the report next
considers the role of social attitudes toward immigrants,
discrimination, and neighborhood contexts in immigrant
adaptation.

The next section examines acculturation and identity
formation as they relate to immigration research in the
field of psychology and then considers challenges relevant
to several vulnerable populations and specific develop-
mental challenges across the life span. Issues of assessment
and testing with immigrants and second-language learners,
central to the field of psychology, are addressed in educa-
tional, clinical, forensic, and legal contexts. The educational
setting, a context critical for the well-being and future
success of the children of immigrants, is then examined,
followed by a discussion of the critical mental health chal-
lenges of immigrants in clinical settings, addressing classic
presenting problems as well as issues pertinent to diagnosis,
assessment, treatment, and intervention.

The concluding discussion chapter reviews the de-
mographic imperative of attending to issues related to
immigrant-origin individuals and their families, considers
the current implications of the evidence, and draws con-
clusions about where psychology should be going as a field
to better serve immigrant populations. The report provides

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5 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

bulleted recommendations for culturally and developmen-
tally informed services and supports, research, education
and training, and collaboration and advocacy. A brief syn-
opsis of the report is presented below.

The Diverse New Immigrant Population

Diverse Origins

While immigrants to the United States come from all over
the world, in the last 3 decades migration has primarily
originated from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia.
One third of the foreign-born population in the United
States is from Mexico, and a total of 55% originate from
Latin America (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The four states
with the largest numbers of immigrants (California, Ha-
waii, New Mexico, and Texas) have already become “ma-
jority/minority” (less than 50% White) states (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2011a).

Educational and Professional Diversity

Immigrants arrive in the United States with varied levels of
education. At one end of the spectrum are highly educated
immigrant adults (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006) who comprise
a quarter of all U.S. physicians, 24% of the nation’s science
and engineering workers with bachelor’s degrees, and 47%
of scientists with doctorates. Many highly educated and
skilled immigrant adults, however, find a dramatic de-
crease in employment opportunities when they immigrate
(Yakushko, Backhaus, Watson, Ngaruiya, & Gonzalez, 2008)
and may experience unemployment, underemployment,
and downward mobility (Davila, 2008; G. Lee & Westwood,
1996; Yost & Lucas, 2002). These issues are magnified for
ethnic or racial minority adults (Catanzarite & Aguilera,
2002; Fernandez, 1998; M. C. Morales, 2009).

At the other end of the spectrum, some immigrant
adults have educational levels far below native-born con-
temporaries (CBO, 2011; Portes & Rumbaut, 2006). Some
sectors of the U.S. labor market (e.g., unskilled manual and
service work), are particularly reliant on “low-skilled” im-
migrant adults, including agriculture, service, and construc-
tion industries (CBO, 2011; Schumacher-Matos, 2011).

Language Diversity

An estimated 460 languages are currently spoken in homes
in the United States (Kindler, 2002). The National Cen-
ter for Education Statistics estimates that between 1979

and 2008, the percentage of children who spoke a second
language at home increased from 9% to 21% (U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, 2010). Of those individuals speaking a
language other than English at home, 62% speak Spanish,
19% speak another Indo-European language, 15% speak an
Asian or a Pacific Island language, and the remaining 4%
speak another language (Shin & Komiski, 2010). Although
in the United States there have been recurring concerns
about the immigrant population’s inability or unwillingness
to learn English (Bayley & Regan, 2004), research finds a
consistent pattern of language assimilation within a genera-
tion (Alba, Logan, Lutz, & Stults, 2002; Portes & Schauffler,
1994; Wong Fillmore, 1991).

Xenophobia and Discrimination in the
Social Context of Reception

In the current anti-immigrant climate, xenophobia and
discrimination significantly impact the lives of immigrants
in the United States (Deaux, 2006). Immigrant adults and
their children may be identified by their accented English,
“unusual” names, and manners of dress. Because native-
born Americans sometimes view immigrants as taking
away jobs (Transatlantic Trends, 2010) and bringing unde-
sirable cultural practices (Zárate, Garcia, Garza, & Hitlan,
2004), many immigrants are discriminated against in the
workplace (Dietz, 2010) and across a range of other micro-
systems, including their neighborhoods, service agencies,
and schools (Rumbaut, 2005; Stone & Han, 2005).

Immigrants who are racially distinct from the major-
ity are at greater risk for experiencing discrimination than
those who are not (Berry & Sabatier, 2010; Liebkind &
Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000). Many immigrants from Asia, Latin
America, the Caribbean, and Africa encounter racial dis-
crimination for the first time in the United States, which
can have a substantial impact on their health and mental
health (Brown et al., 2000). Xenophobia affects both im-
migrants and U.S.-born minority populations and is an
increasing problem for Latinos in the United States (Lo-
pez & Taylor, 2010; Lopez, Morin, & Taylor, 2010). Asian
immigrants, often referred to as “the model minority,” are
perceived as doing well educationally and economically
(Fuligni & Witkow, 2004) but also experience negative atti-
tudes (Maddux, Galinsky, Cuddy, & Polifroni, 2008; Zárate
et al., 2004). Notably, immigrant Asians report they experi-
ence more discrimination than Asian Americans born in
the United States (Yip, Gee, & Takeuchi, 2008). As there

6 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

is clear evidence that there are negative consequences to
living with prejudice, this is an issue of grave concern (see
Report of the Presidential Task Force on Reducing and Prevent-
ing Discrimination [APA, 2012] and the APA Resolution on
Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Discrimination; APA, 2006).

Acculturation

Psychological acculturation refers to the dynamic process
that immigrants experience as they adapt to the culture of
the new country (Berry, 1980). Psychological accultura-
tion occurs against the backdrop of the local community of
resettlement (Birman, Trickett, & Buchanan, 2005; Schnitt-
ker, 2002), the experience of the immigrant group (Gib-
son, 2001), and the economic context of the larger society.
Immigrants of color in particular may encounter discrimi-
nation that limits their acculturation options. The age of
immigration is also an important factor that shapes how
acculturation unfolds. Children learn the host country’s
language and culture relatively quickly, while adults take
longer, having been fully socialized into their heritage cul-
ture prior to migration. Acculturation to the new culture
is particularly slow for immigrants of retirement age (Jang,
Kim, Chiriboga, & King-Kallimanis, 2007; Miller, Wang,
Szalacha, & Sorokin, 2009).

Acculturation is a multidimensional process that
involves changes in many aspects of immigrants’ lives,
including language competence and use, cultural identity,
attitudes and values, food and music preferences, media
use, ethnic pride, ethnic social relations, cultural familiar-
ity, and social customs (see Yoon, Langrehr, & Ong, 2010,
for a review). Acculturation may occur in stages, with
immigrants learning the new language first, followed by
behavioral participation in the culture (Birman & Trickett,
2001; Gordon, 1964; R. M. Lee, Yoon, & Liu-Tom, 2006).
Immigrants who have lived in the United States for a long
time and appear to have adopted the American lifestyle
may nonetheless continue to maintain strong identification
with the values of their culture of origin. This has impor-
tant implications for providing psychological services to
this population.

Acculturation and Mental Health

The process of acculturation may lead to acculturative stress
(Berry, 1997; Lazarus, 1997), defined as stressful life events
thought to be associated with the acculturation process
that lead to psychological difficulties. Increasingly, research-

ers are using independent or bilinear measures of accul-
turation to both cultures. They are finding that immigrants
benefit from acculturation to both the new and the na-
tive culture. From a contextual perspective, there is no
“best” acculturative style independent of context (Birman,
Trickett, & Buchanan, 2005). Rather, whether a particular
way of acculturating is beneficial depends on the kinds of
cultural skills needed for successful adaptation within each
particular microsystem. Thus, acculturation to both cultures
provides access to different kinds of resources that are use-
ful in different settings, which in turn are linked to positive
mental health outcomes (Birman & Taylor-Ritzler, 2007;
Oppedal, Roysamb, & Sam, 2004; Shen & Takeuchi, 2001).

Intergenerational Differences in Acculturation

Because parents and children acculturate in different ways
and at different rates, immigrant parents and children
increasingly live in different cultural worlds. Immigrant
parents often understand little of their children’s lives out-
side the home. For immigrant children, it can be difficult
to live with the expectations and demands of one culture
in the home and another at school. Children may not turn
to their parents with problems and concerns, believing
that their parents do not know the culture well enough to
provide them with good advice or assistance or are already
overburdened with the multiple stresses of resettlement
(Birman, 2006; C. Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001).
Extensive research with a variety of immigrant groups has
documented the problems caused by acculturation gaps in
studies with Asian (Buki, Ma, Strom, & Strom, 2003; Farver,
Bhadha, & Narang, 2002; Ho & Birman, 2010;
R. M. Lee, Choe, Kim, & Ngo, 2000), Latino (Martinez,
2006; Schofield, Parke, Kim, & Coltrane, 2008; Smokowski,
Rose, & Bacallao, 2008), and European (Birman, 2006;
Crul & Vermuelen, 2003) immigrant families.

Assessment With Immigrant-Origin
Adults and Children

The classic tools of the field of psychology—normed
psychological tests and psychological batteries—have a
long history of misuse in the field, particularly with mi-
nority populations (Strickland, 2000). At the most basic
level, the assessment tools at psychologists’ disposal are not
often normed on the cultural and linguistic populations to
which they are applied (Suzuki, Kugler, & Aguiar, 2005).

7 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The challenge of appropriately assessing immigrants
and English language learners affects this population in
three general areas: placement in special education (Lesaux,
2006; Solano-Flores, 2008); ability, achievement, and apti-
tude testing (Menken, 2008; Solano-Flores, 2008); and the
use of clinical assessment and diagnostic measures (Suzuki,
Ponterotto, & Meller, 2008). There are several potential
errors that may arise in assessment with immigrants. Con-
tent knowledge may go unrecognized, disguised behind
language acquisition challenges (Solano-Flores, 2008).
Information presented on tests may depend on exposure
to cultural knowledge that test-takers have never encoun-
tered, deflating test scores (Solano-Flores, 2008). Timed tests
penalize second-language learners, who are processing two
languages as they settle on an answer (Solano-Flores, 2008).
When culturally sensitive approaches are not used, individu-
als can either be overpathologized or, conversely, their needs
may go unrecognized (Leseaux, 2006; Suzuki et al., 2008).

Approximately 20,000 mental, personality, and edu-
cational tests are published and developed each year, yet
many of these tests suffer from assessment biases that
can lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate interventions
(Cohen & Swerdlik, 1999; Suzuki et al., 2005). This is an
area of professional practice that has often been criticized
for perpetuating the social, economic, and political bar-
riers confronting ethnic minority and immigrant groups
(Padilla & Borsato, 2008). For testing and assessment to
be culturally appropriate, there needs to be a continuous,
intentional, and active preoccupation with the culture of
the group or individual being assessed. Appropriate mul-
ticultural assessment requires that practitioners “arrive at
an accurate, sound, and comprehensive description of the
client’s psychological presentation” (Ridley, Tracy, Pruitt-
Stephens, Wimsatt, & Beard, 2008, p. 27) by gathering data
on historical, familial, economic, social, and community
issues. This knowledge is critical in choosing appropriate
tests and assessment language, as well as in interpreting test
results (Suzuki et al., 2005).

Immigrant Populations in
Educational Contexts

The size and diversity of today’s immigration flow is re-
flected in U.S. public schools. As of 2011, 23.7% of school-
age children in the United States were the children of
immigrants (Migration Policy Institute [MPI], 2011), with
the majority (77%) second-generation-citizen children and

the rest (23%) foreign-born (Mather, 2009). Approximately
10.7% of all U.S. public school students are classified as
English language learners (MPI, 2011). These children,
like their parents, represent a tremendous diversity in
their socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.
While some do remarkably well in school, many others
struggle (García Coll & Marks, 2011; C. Suárez-Orozco &
Suárez-Orozco, 1995; C. Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, &
Todorova, 2008).

The patterns of high achievement among many in the
first generation are remarkable given the myriad challenges
they encounter, including xenophobia, economic obstacles,
language difficulties, family separations, underresourced
neighborhoods and schools, and struggles to gain their
bearings in a new educational system (Huynh & Fuligni,
2008; Pong & Hao, 2007; Portes & Zhou, 1993). On a
number of educational outcomes, immigrant youth out-
perform their U.S.-born peers (García Coll & Marks, 2011;
Perreira, Harris, & Lee, 2006).

First-generation immigrants demonstrate certain
advantages; they enter U.S. schools with tremendous
optimism (Kao & Tienda, 1995), high aspirations (Fuligni,
2001; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001), dedication to hard work,
positive attitudes toward school (C. Suárez-Orozco &
Suárez-Orozco, 1995), and an ethic of family support for
advanced learning (Li, 2004). First-generation immigrant
students show a number of positive academic behaviors
that often lead to stronger than expected academic out-
comes (García Coll & Marks, 2011; C. Suárez-Orozco
& Suárez-Orozco, 1995). On the other hand, immigrant
students tend to perform poorly on high-stakes tests of
academic achievement because of language acquisition
challenges (Menken, 2008).

Newcomer students, and especially students with inter-
rupted formal education, must surmount daunting obsta-
cles, including developing academic English skills (Carhill,
Suárez-Orozco, & Páez, 2008) and fulfilling graduation
requirements (Ruíz-de-Velasco, Fix, & Clewell, 2000), all
in a high-stakes testing environment not designed with
their educational obstacles in mind (Hood, 2003; Menken,
2008). Some of these youths may never enroll in school,
arriving with the intention to work (C. Suárez-Orozco,
Gaytán, & Kim, 2010). Others enroll and quickly drop out,
encountering frustrations with language acquisition as well
as schools that are not equipped to serve them (Ruiz-de-
Velasco et al., 2000; C. Suárez-Orozco et al., 2008).

8 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Immigrant-origin students of the second generation
face some of the same experiences as the first generation.
Though born in the United States, if they grow up in non-
English-speaking homes, they enter schools needing to
acquire English just as they are learning to read. This places
them at a transitory disadvantage if they are not provided
adequate educational supports (O. García, 2009). Compared
with the first generation, however, immigrant-origin stu-
dents of the second generation have some unique advan-
tages. All are automatically U.S. citizens, and some will not
have the language acquisition hurdle, particularly if they
live in neighborhoods where they are regularly exposed
to English-language models (C. Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-
Orozco, 2001). Yet the second generation may be disad-
vantaged, as they are less buffered by immigrant optimism
(Fuligni, 2011; Kao & Tienda, 1995; C. Suárez-Orozco &
Suárez-Orozco, 2001).

Meeting the needs of immigrant-origin students has
not been a national priority in today’s high-stakes testing,
school-reform environment (Menken, 2008; C. Suárez-
Orozco et al., 2008). This population is largely continu-
ously “overlooked and underserved” (Ruiz-de-Velasco
et al., 2000). More systematic attention must be focused
on their educational needs, and a systematic research and
public policy agenda is required to establish efficacious
educational practices addressing the specific learning needs
of immigrant-origin students.

The successful incorporation of children of im-
migrants into the educational system is one of the most
important and fundamental challenges today, particularly
in a knowledge-intensive economy. Understanding the
specific needs that different immigrant populations face
vis-à-vis the education system is critical to determining
appropriate interventions. Given the diversity of the im-
migrant student populations entering schools, it is clear
that a one-size-fits-all model will not work (see C. Suárez-
Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, & Sattin-Bajal, 2009). Programs
that support newcomer students by creating a community
of peers experiencing the same dramatic transitions may
provide educational innovations and insights for immigrant
students, but further research on their efficacy is necessary
(see C. Suárez-Orozco et al., 2009).

Some of the fiercest debates over immigrant educa-
tion center on the issue of second-language development.
Cross-country comparisons of good practice demonstrate
that it is essential to make “long-term investments in sys-

tematic language support” (Christensen & Stanat, 2007, p.
2) as well as to provide pre-service and professional devel-
opment training for teachers. To effectively educate and
integrate all immigrant-origin students, every educator
and school support staff member must consider immigrant
children’s education as part of their responsibility. These
students’ needs go beyond second-language development
to include cultural adaptation, social support, and assistance
in general academic subjects. Therefore, schools should
provide ongoing professional development to all faculty
and staff on how to work with immigrant-origin children.

Recognizing the varieties of cultural models of family
involvement that immigrant families bring with them will
reduce the inaccurate stereotyping of immigrant parents’
commitment to their children’s education that educators
often carry with them (Birman & Ryerson-Espino, 2007;
C. Suárez-Orozco et al., 2008). In addition, for immigrant
families unfamiliar with American higher education, it
is critically important to assist them with the process of
preparing for college, applying for admissions, and secur-
ing scholarships and financial aid. Without such assistance,
a generation of youths may end up undereducated, under-
employed, and unable to participate optimally in society
(C. Suárez-Orozco et al., 2010).

Immigrant Populations in
Clinical Contexts

Many immigrants adapt well to their new living circum-
stances. They do so by navigating multiple sociocultural
contexts in positive ways that contribute to their well-
being and success in the United States. Studies suggest that
immigrants may not experience more mental illness or
psychological distress than nonimmigrants (Alegría, Cani-
no, Stinson, & Grant, 2006), though it is important to note
that refugees are a particularly vulnerable subpopulation
of immigrants (see Resilience & Recovery After War: Refugee
Children and Families in the United States, APA, 2010).

When immigrants do experience mental health dif-
ficulties, for many it is related to the immigration experi-
ence. A wide range of mental health problems, including
anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance
abuse, and a higher prevalence of severe mental illness and
suicidal ideation have been observed among immigrant
populations in the United States (Desjarlais, Eisenberg,
Good, & Kleinman, 1995; Duldulao, Takeuchi, & Hong,

http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/refugees.aspx

9 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2009). The immigration process as a whole—loss of and
separation from country of origin, family members, and
familiar customs and traditions; changes in social class
and/or socioeconomic status; exposure to a new physical
environment; and the need to navigate unfamiliar cultural
contexts—has the potential to serve as a catalyst for the
development of a great variety of psychological problems.

Given such experiences, many first-generation im-
migrants experience a variety of psychological problems,
including stress. The constellation of presenting issues for
immigrants tends to fall within the areas of acculturation-
based presenting problems (see McCaffrey, 2008; Ponce, Hays,
& Cunningham, 2006; Tummala-Narra, in press; Vasquez,
Han, & De Las Fuentes, 2006), trauma-based presenting
problems (see Chaudry et al., 2010; Foster, 2001; Yoshioka,
Gilbert, El-Bassel, & Baig-Amin, 2003), and discrimina-
tion, racism, and xenophobia–based problems (see Alegría et
al., 2004; Cheng et al., 2010; Gee, Spencer, Chen, Yip, &
Takeuchi, 2007; Lopez et al., 2010; Tran, Lee, & Burgess,
2010; Tummala-Narra, Alegría, & Chen, 2011).

It is important to note that immigrant-origin adults,
children, older adults, and families also often demonstrate
resiliency and benefit from protective factors rooted within
their specific cultural contexts, including the greater use
of protective traditional family networks (Escobar, Nervi,
& Gara, 2000) and collectivistic coping strategies (e.g.,
seeking help from family or similar ethnic peers). When
immigrants require clinical treatment, it is important to
incorporate a resilience and coping perspective into the
treatment process. Some immigrants may draw strength
from family structures that U.S. therapists may judge nega-
tively or misunderstand (Hong & Domokos-Cheng Ham,
2001). It is important to note that what may be consid-
ered a strength in one cultural context may be considered
deviant or undesirable in another (Harvey, 2007; Tummala-
Narra, 2007). Culturally competent treatment attends to
culture-specific coping among immigrant clients. Consis-
tent with the ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner &
Ceci, 1994), this report highlights the interaction of person
and environment and related intersections of social iden-
tities (i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation,
social class, disability/ability, and immigration status) in
addressing mental health needs among immigrant commu-
nities.

A number of barriers to culturally sensitive and appro-
priate mental health services for racial/ethnic minority and

immigrant populations have been well documented in the
literature. Both distal and proximal barriers (Casas, Raley,
& Vasquez, 2008) have an impact on the effective use of
mental health services by immigrant persons:

J Social-cultural barriers include differences in symptom
expression (e.g., somatic symptoms) (Alegría et al.,
2008) and conflicting views about the causes of (i.e.,
attributions) and ways of coping with mental prob-
lems (Atkinson, 2004; Koss-Chioino, 2000).

J Contextual-structural barriers include lack of access to
appropriate and culturally sensitive mental health
services (Lazear, Pires, Isaacs, Chaulk, & Huang,
2008; Wu, Kviz, & Miller, 2009), lack of knowledge
of available and existing mental health services (C.
M. Garcia & Saewyc, 2007), shortage of racial/eth-
nic minority mental health workers and/or persons
trained to work with racial/ethnic minority persons
(APA, 2009a), older persons and culturally diverse el-
ders (APA, 2009b), lack of access to interpreters, and
lack of resources (e.g., lack of child care or transpor-
tation) for accessing services (Rodríguez, Valentine,
Son, & Muhammad, 2009).

J Clinical-procedural barriers include the lack of cultur-
ally sensitive and relevant services (Maton, Kohout,
Wicherski, Leary, & Vinokurov, 2006), “clinician bias”
(Maton et al., 2006), communication problems relat-
ed to language differences and cultural nuances (Kim
et al., 2011), misdiagnosis of presenting problems
(Olfson et al., 2002), failure to assess cultural and
linguistic constructs and procedural appropriateness
of tests for targeted populations (Dana, 2005; Kwan,
Gong, & Younnjung, 2010; Suzuki et al., 2008), lack
of attention to culturally embedded expressions of
resilience (Tummala-Narra, 2007), and failure to
use the most efficacious mental health interventions
(McNeill & Cervantes, 2008) (e.g., evidence-based
interventions adapted for use with minority and im-
migrant populations).

There is a growing body of research that documents
life experiences (e.g., the immigration experience itself) and
contextual conditions (e.g., poverty and discrimination) that
put some immigrants and their families at risk for experi-
encing diverse mental health challenges. Further, some types
of challenges faced by immigrants, such as interpersonal,
racial, and political trauma, are especially important for clini-

10 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

cians to recognize, as they tend not to be discussed openly
and yet often compromise positive adjustment and well-
being (APA, 2010). It is also important to recognize that
various factors (e.g., social-cultural, contextual-structural,
and clinical-procedural) contribute to an underutilization of
mental health services among immigrant populations. Much
of what is known about the use of evidence-based treat-
ments with immigrants has been extrapolated from research
on ethnic minorities (Miranda et al., 2005), and only a few
studies have examined the effectiveness of evidence-based
treatments with immigrant populations (Beehler, Birman,
& Campbell, 2011; Constantino, Malgady, & Rogler, 1988;
Duarté-Vélez, Bernal, & Bonilla, 2010; Kataoka et al., 2003;
Santisteban & Mena, 2009).

While research on evidence-based treatments is clearly
needed to address the utility of interventions with immi-
grants, clinicians and researchers can benefit from attending
to practice-based evidence that offers important lessons in
culturally competent interventions (Birman et al., 2008). To
increase the accessibility and efficacy of services, clinicians
and practitioners should adhere to the following guiding
principles:

J Use an ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner &
Morris, 2006) to develop and guide interventions.

J Integrate evidence-based practice with practice-
based evidence (Birman et al., 2008).

J Provide culturally competent treatment (APA, 2002;
Birman, Ho, et al., 2005; Marmol, 2003; Nastasi,
Moore, & Varjas, 2004; Pedersen, 2003; Vera, Vila, &
Alegría, 2003).

J Partner with community-based organizations (Bir-
man et al., 2008; Casas, Pavelski, Furlong, & Zanglis,
2001).

J Incorporate social justice principles in providing
service (Crethar, Torres Rivera, & Nash, 2008).

Additionally, evidence suggests that awareness of con-
text in every stage of planning and implementing assess-
ment and intervention is essential for ethical and effective
practice with immigrant clients.

Summary of Recommendations

Recommendations to ensure positive outcomes for immi-
grant-origin adults (including older adults), children and
adolescents, and families are embedded throughout this
report. Positive outcomes require stakeholders within clini-
cal practice, research, education, and public policy sectors
to become culturally competent as well as cognizant of an
array of diverse interacting factors (i.e., immigrant genera-
tion, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, social
class, education, English language proficiency, and disabil-
ity/ability) that may influence immigrant mental health
and adjustment.

Stakeholders should collaborate with family members,
community members, and one another to provide effec-
tive and ethical mental and behavioral health and educa-
tional support for immigrant-origin adults (including older
adults), children and adolescents, and their families.

The recommendations in this report focus broadly
on ways in which the field of psychology can address the
needs of this population across practice, research, educa-
tion, and policy domains. These recommendations require
further communication and collaboration within the field
and in interdisciplinary collaboration with other fields
involved in the care and adaptation of immigrants across
the life span.

11 Report of the APA Presidential Task Force on Immigration J EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Espinola
(2012)
integrated
aspects
of
feminist
therapy,
DBT,
existen>al
therapy,
and

mul>cultural
therapy
into
a
new
counseling
model
that
has
the
objec>ve
of

appropriately
targe>ng
the
issues
that
affect
immigrants.
Espinola
developed
this

model
aFer
seeing
that
a
large
number
of
mental
health
prac>>oners
struggle
when

aGemp>ng
to
understand
how
the
immigra>on
process
can
impact
immigrants’
well

being.
The
author
was
concerned
about
counselors
who
have
difficulty
dealing
with

the
cultural
aspects
of
their
clients’
presenta>on.
She
realized
that
many
counselors

ignore
immigra>on
experiences
completely
and
conceptualize
immigrants’
cases
the

same
way
they
would
conceptualize
the
cases
of
minority
clients
who
were
born
in

the
US
or
the
cases
of
Caucasian
clients;
they
pathologize
their
clients’
presenta>on

based
on
their
own
values,
or
they
work
to
ins>ll
in
their
clients
their
own
values.
She

also
no>ced
that
other
counselors
are
so
afraid
of
being
perceived
as
being
poli>cally

incorrect
or
insensi>ve
to
clients’
culture
that
they
make
no
aGempts
to
empower

their
clients
to
change
or
leave
their
environments
even
when
those
environments

are
severely
affec>ng
their
clients’
well
being.

Mul>cultural
therapy
and
feminist
therapy
share
some
similari>es
that
the
author

decided
to
incorporate
in
this
counseling
model.
These
aspects
include:
the

development
of
a
collabora>ve
and
egalitarian
rela>onship
between
the
counselor

and
the
client,
the
recogni>on
of
the
client
in
the
social
context,
the
empowerment

of
the
client,
and
the
importance
of
working
towards
social
change.

Espinola
(2012)
used
the
existen>al
model
because
she
found
it
to
be
helpful
when

explaining
many
of
the
struggles
that
immigrants
go
through
during
the
immigra>on

process.
She
believes
that
one
of
the
reasons
why
the
immigra>on
experience
is
so

overwhelming
is
because
it
leads
individuals
into
existen>al
crises
that
are
very

difficult
to
overcome.
Espinola
(2012)
argues
that
there
are
five
existen>al
issues

(iden>ty,
isola>on,
death,
meaning,
and
freedom)
that
can
play
a
role
in
the

treatment
of
immigrant
clients.

AFer
arriving
in
the
U.S.,
many
immigrants
struggle
with
issues
regarding
their
own

iden>ty.
Some
women
immigrants
who
come
from
cultures
that
have
patriarchal

systems
may
feel
that
occupying
the
role
of
providers
for
their
families
nega>vely

affects
their
female
iden>ty.
For
example,
these
clients
may
say
that
they
feel
more

“like
a
man”
or
they
may
ask
“Is
this
what
a
woman
should
do?”
when
speaking

about
occupying
the
role
of
the
head
of
household.
Others
struggle
with
issues

aGached
to
their
na>onal
iden>ty,
par>cularly
when
they
are
iden>fied
by
people
in

their
home
country
as
traitors
for
leaving
them
behind.
Changes
in
economic
status

can
significantly
impact
the
way
immigrants
see
themselves
or
the
way
in
which
they

are
perceived
by
others.
Immigrants
oFen
feel
obligated
to
change
their
cultural

values
in
order
to
“fit
in.”
Difficul>es
speaking
English
can
lead
immigrants
to
remain

isolated
and
lose
the
ability
to
find
their
place
in
society.
When
immigrants
find
that

their
new
role
in
society
is
of
lower
status
than
the
one
they
had
in
their
countries
of

origin,
they
can
struggle
with
low
self
esteem
and
low
self
confidence.
Immigrants

who
are
LGBTQ
oFen
face
different
experiences
when
they
arrive
in
the
U.S.
Some
of

them
may
have
a
history
of
hiding
their
sexual
iden>ty
and
they
may
decide
to
be

open
about
their
sexuality
aFer
arriving.
Others
who
come
from
countries
that
are

more
accep>ng
of
LGBTQs
may
feel
obligated
to
do
the
opposite
and
hide
their

sexual
orienta>on
aFer
immigra>ng.

Immigrants
confront
isola>on
at
different
levels
aFer
arriving
to
the
U.S.
First,
they

find
themselves
away
from
their
country
of
origin
and
oFen
unable
to
go
back
for

long
periods
of
>me.
Second,
moving
from
a
collec>vis>c
society
to
an
individualis>c

society
can
severely
impact
their
ability
to
develop
meaningful
rela>onships
with

others
.
Third,
immigra>ng
to
the
U.S.
very
oFen
leads
them
to
be
away
from
family

members,
friends,
and
other
loved
ones.
Finally,
since
immigrants
can
experience

language
difficul>es,
lack
of
knowledge
about
social
customs,
discrimina>on,
and

racism,
their
feelings
of
isola>on
can
become
even
more
overwhelming
.

Immigrants
may
face
the
idea
of
death
in
different
instances.
Some
immigrants
may

interpret
their
life
changes
as
the
death
of
the
person
they
used
to
be
or
as
the
death

of
life
as
they
knew
it.
Moreover,
being
unable
to
go
back
to
their
home
countries

can
prevent
them
“from
being
there”
when
a
family
member
or
a
friend
dies.
Thus,

increasing
the
feelings
of
guilt
that
many
people
experience
when
dealing
with
grief.

Immigrants
who
arrive
to
the
U.S.
on
their
own
can
struggle
with
the
idea
that
if
they

die
“nobody
will
know
or
nobody
will
care.”

Immigra>ng
to
the
U.S.
can
lead
individuals
to
ques>on
the
meaning
of
their
lives

par>cularly
if
they
grew
up
believing
that
such
meaning
was
aGached
to
the
role
they

occupy
in
their
families
or
in
their
communi>es.

Immigra>ng
to
the
U.S.
allows
some
individuals
to
experience
more
freedom,

especially
those
who
come
to
this
country
escaping
poli>cal
persecu>on.
However,

becoming
an
immigrant
can
lead
to
serious
limita>ons
such
as
language
difficul>es,

poverty,
lack
of
access
to
educa>on
and
health
care,
lack
of
social
support,

discrimina>on,
and
racism.

In
order
to
explain
immigrants’
behaviors,
Espinola
(2012)
applied
the
dialec>cal

perspec>ve
that
Linehan
(1993)
uses
in
DBT
to
the
immigra>on
experience.
Dialec>cs

focuses
on
the
immediate
and
larger
context
of
behavior,
as
well
as
the

interrelatedness
of
individual
behavior
paGerns.
In
this
model,
the
immediate

context
of
behavior
is
the
environment
in
which
the
immigrant
is
immersed
while
in

therapy
(e.g.
abusive
rela>onship,
oppressive
work
environment)
while
the
larger

context
of
behavior
includes
not
only
the
social
context
in
the
U.S.
but
the
social

context
in
the
immigrant’s
country
of
origin.
In
terms
of
interrelatedness
of
behavior

paGerns,
this
model
focuses
on
the
rela>onship
between
the
person’s
behavior

paGerns
in
her
home
country
with
the
person’s
behavior
paGerns
in
the
U.S.

From
a
dialec>cal
perspec>ve,
reality
is
composed
of
internal
opposing
forces
(thesis

and
an>thesis)
out
of
whose
synthesis
evolves
a
new
set
of
opposing
forces.
In
the

cases
of
immigrants,
Espinola
(2012)
sees
the
opposing
forces
as:
1)
the
cultural

values
from
the
immigrants’
home
country
and
2)
the
U.S.
cultural
values,
out
of

whose
synthesis
evolves
a
bicultural
iden>ty
which
is
also
formed
by
opposing
forces.

As
shown
in
this
graphic,
Espinola
(2012)
sees
every
cultural
value
as
composed
of

two
internal
opposing
forces
that
must
be
recognized
during
the
counseling
process

in
order
to
allow
the
person
to
develop
a
bicultural
iden>ty.
For
example,
she

believes
that
one
of
the
forces
in
the
cultural
value
of
machismo
can
lead
men
to
act

as
protectors
and
providers
for
their
families
while
the
opposing
force
is
the
one
that

can
lead
men
to
act
as
oppressors
towards
their
families.
For
trauma
therapy,
this
is
a

very
important
concept
because
the
same
cultural
value
that
can
be
beneficial
for
a

woman’s
recovery
can
be
detrimental
for
another
woman’s
treatment.
While
a

woman
can
benefit
from
having
the
support
of
a
caring
husband
or
father
who
see

his
role
as
the
protector
of
the
family,
another
client
may
be
suffering
from

oppression
because
her
husband
or
father
sees
himself
as
having
the
right
to
control

her
or
abuse
her.
Another
example
is
religion.
Religion
can
be
a
great
source
of

strength,
support,
and
life
meaning
but
the
role
of
religion
can
also
be
detrimental
in

cases
in
which
the
client
is
ostracized
and
shamed
due
to
her
sexual
orienta>on.

Espinola
(2012)
believes
that
in
order
to
properly
serve
immigrant
clients,
counselors

must
be
able
to
look
at
their
own
cultural
values
and
recognize
these
opposing

forces.
For
example,
in
the
case
of
individualism.
Although
individualism
can
allow
a

person
to
feel
free,
it
can
also
lead
a
person
to
feel
lonely
and
isolated.
A

fundamental
aspect
of
examining
cultural
values
from
a
dialec>cal
perspec>ve
is
that

cultural
values
should
not
be
interpreted
as
“good”
or
“bad.”
When
counselors

examine
a
specific
cultural
value
with
clients,
they
should
tell
them,
“this
cultural

is
not
good
or
bad,
it
just
‘is.’”
Every
value
can
be
interpreted
from
an
opposite

perspec>ve
and
remaining
open
to
that
can
allow
counselors
to
beGer
understand

clients
from
other
cultures.
Moreover,
it
can
allow
clients
to
develop
a
bicultural

iden>ty
and
switch
between
cultural
iden>>es
when
appropriate
without
feeling

distraught
or
unease.
This
issue
is
very
important
because
immigrant
clients
oFen

maintain
rela>onships
with
people
in
their
home
country
or
with
people
who
are

very
aGached
to
the
clients’
home
countries’
cultural
values.
Thus,
an
absolute

rejec>on
of
their
home
countries’
cultural
values
can
lead
immigrants
to
feel
isolated

and
unable
to
connect
to
their
family
members
or
to
people
who
share
the
same

background.
On
the
other
hand,
an
absolute
rejec>on
of
U.S.
cultural
values
may
lead

the
clients
to
be
unable
to
succeed
financially,
academically,
or
in
their
rela>onships

with
others.
That
is
why
Espinola
found
that
applying
the
dialec>cal
perspec>ve
to

the
immigra>on
experience
can
lead
immigrants
to
develop
a
bicultural
iden>ty
that

allows
them
to
thrive
in
both
cultures.

Here’s
an
exercise
that
Espinola
(2012)
created
to
help
clients
develop
a
bicultural

iden>ty.
During
this
exercise,
the
counselor
and
the
client
work
collabora>vely
to

iden>fy
the
posi>ve
and
the
nega>ve
aspects
of
a
specific
cultural
value,
Then,
they

explore
the
posi>ve
and
the
nega>ve
aspects
of
a
value
from
the
U.S.
that
could
be

seen
as
opposite
than
the
cultural
value
being
examined.
In
this
case,
the
value
being

examined
is
collec>vism.
Thus,
the
opposite
value
is
individualism.

Another
aspect
that
the
author
took
from
the
dialec>cal
perspec>ve
is
the
idea
that

both
the
individual
and
the
environment
are
undergoing
con>nuous
transi>on.
As

previously
men>oned,
many
counselors
strive
to
help
their
clients
maintain
their

cultural
values
even
when
those
values
are
damaging
to
the
clients’
well
being.
What

this
model
proposes
is
to
allow
the
clients
to
see
the
opposing
forces
of
each
cultural

value
that
plays
a
role
in
their
lives.
As
clients
become
comfortable
seeing
the

posi>ve
and
the
nega>ve
aspects
of
each
cultural
value,
they
will
feel
more
free
to

choose
what
cultural
values
they
wish
to
preserve
and
which
ones
they
would
like
to

stop
holding
or
to
stop
holding
as
strongly
as
they
did
before.
The
author
believes

that
counselors
must
be
culturally
sensi>ve
to
the
cultural
values
that
clients
bring

from
their
home
countries,
the
cultural
values
that
immigrants
are
exposed
to
when

they
arrive
to
the
U.S,
and
the
immigra>on
experience
itself.
A
true
understanding
of

the
immigra>on
experience
implies
recognizing
the
dialec>cal
aspects
that
are

intrinsic
to
this
experience
and
acknowledging
the
changing
nature
of
an
immigrants’

percep>on
of
themselves
and
of
the
world
around
them.

Research
suggests
that
developing
a
bicultural
iden>ty
can
be
the
most
beneficial

outcome
for
immigrants.
The
model
presented
in
this
document
can
serve
to
help

immigrants
through
this
endeavor.
The
main
differences
between
this
model
and

what
is
being
used
right
now
are
the
following
concepts:
1)
the
different
aspects
of

the
immigra>on
process
can
be
understood
as
existen>al
in
nature
and
can
amount

to
an
existen>al
crisis;
2)
the
mul>cultural
and
the
feminist
models
must
serve
as

framework
for
the
treatment
of
immigrants
but
cannot
be
used
as
stand
alone

treatments;
and
3)
applying
the
dialec>cal
perspec>ve
to
the
experiences
of

immigrants
can
help
counselors
beGer
understand
their
clients
and
can
lead
clients

to
beGer
understand
themselves
as
they
go
through
the
immigra>on
experience
and

as
they
develop
a
bicultural
iden>ty
that
could
help
them
thrive
in
today’s
ever-‐
changing
society.

References

Espinola,
M.
(2012).
An
Introduc>on
to
Unica
Therapy
for
La>na
Immigrants.
In
S.

MaroGa
(Chairperson),
Keeping
Up
with
the
Evidence
Base:
Treatments
for
Individuals

with
a
History
of
Exposure
to
Violence.
Symposium
presented
at
the
120th
American

Psychological
Associa>on
Annual
Conven>on,
Orlando,
Fl.

Linehan,
M.
(1993).
Cogni>ve-‐behavioral
treatment
of
borderline
personality

disorder.
New
York,
NY:
The
Guilford
Press.

Yalom,
I.
(1980).
ExistenAal
psychotherapy.
New
York,
NY:
Basic
Books.

Pleaseread each attachment for instructions, please answer each question all 8 with an answer after reading each attachment. Do not answer each question in a running paragraph. question/answer in at least 200 -300 word detailed with references from attachments and one extra where needed.

I do not have a second chance to correct

Activity: Counseling Immigrants

Instructions:

This activity is composed of three parts. In order to complete part I, you must read the article “Counseling Haitian Students and their Families: Issues and Interventions.” In order to complete part II, you must read the “APA Immigration Report Executive Summary,” and in order to complete part III, you must read “Counseling Model for Immigrants.”

Part I

1) Explain the differences between what parents are expected to do in American schools and what parents are expected to do in Haitian schools.

2) Why did Jean’s parents did not seek contact with teachers?

3) Haitian students face significant prejudice from teachers and classmates based on their race, the negative image of voudou, their former classification as a high-risk group for AIDS, and the violence and corruption of Haiti’s domestic politics. Name the interventions suggested by Joseph (1984).

Part II

1. The United States today has approximately _______ million immigrants—the largest number in its history. As a nation of immigrants, the United States has successfully negotiated larger proportions of newcomers in its past (______% in 1910 vs. _____% today). Notably, nearly _________ ____________of the foreign-born are naturalized citizens or authorized noncitizens.

2. Nearly a ___________ of children under the age of 18 have an immigrant __________.

3. One third of the foreign-born population in the United States is from ________, and a total of _______% originate from Latin America (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).The four states with the largest numbers of immigrants (California, __________, New Mexico, and _________) have already become “majority/minority” (______ than ________% White) states (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011a).

4. Immigrants arrive in the United States with varied levels of education. At one end of the spectrum are highly educated immigrant adults (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006) who comprise a ___________ of all U.S. __________, ________% of the nation’s __________ and ____________ workers with bachelor’s degrees, and _______% of scientists with ______________.

5. An estimated ________ languages are currently spoken in homes in the United States.

6. Psychological acculturation refers to the dynamic process that immigrants experience as they __________ to the culture of the new country.

7. The constellation of presenting issues for immigrants tends to fall within the areas of _________________- based presenting problems, __________-based presenting problems, and _________________, ____________, and ______________–based problems.

8. To increase the accessibility and efficacy of services, clinicians and practitioners should adhere to the following guiding principles: use an ______________perspective, integrate evidence-based practice with ____________-based evidence, provide culturally competent treatment, partner with ______________-based organizations, and incorporate ___________ __________ principles in providing service.

Part III

Please read “Counseling Model for Immigrants” in its entirety. It may be helpful to read this document several times before submitting your answers. Imagine that you have an immigrant client who comes from a collectivistic society (collectivism is associated with countries in Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and the Pacific Islands). Write a transcript of an imaginary session with this client (you can choose your client’s gender, name, country of origin, sexual orientation, age and any other cultural factors that you may wish to include in your transcript). During the session, the client’s main problem should be related to his/her difficulty adapting to an individualistic society. For example, your client may be experiencing distress after immigrating to the U.S. because he/she finds difficult or impossible to develop the type of relationships he/she had with others in his/her home country.
In order to help your client, you should help him/her create a “Bicultural Identity Table” by asking him/her about the positive and the negative aspects of living in a collectivistic society and by asking him/her about the positive and the negative aspects of living in an individual society. You should use the information provided in the document “Counseling Model for Immigrants” to understand the immigration experience from an existential perspective and to understand how to apply the dialectical perspective to the development of a bicultural identity. It should be clear in your transcript that you understood how to use the integrative model proposed in the document. Your transcript should have between 2 and 4 pages, single spaced, and look like a transcript verbatim:

Counselor: blah, blah, blah

Client: blah, blah, blah.

Please read the information below to understand the meaning of “collectivism” and “individualism”:

A collectivist culture is one in which people tend to view themselves as members of groups (families, work units, tribes, nations), and usually consider the needs of the group to be more important than the needs of individuals. Individualistic societies such as the U.S. and Australia are said to prioritize individual achievement, whereas collectivists are said to place more value on group harmony. In individualistic societies, when there is a conflict between an individual’s rights and the collective’s rights, there is a tendency to favor the individual over the collective. In collectivistic societies, when there is a conflict between an individual’s rights and the collective’s rights, there is a tendency to favor the collective over the individual. For example, a man from a collectivistic society would be more likely than one from an individualistic society to give up his own dreams in order to fulfill the needs of his family or community (e.g. deciding to stay in his hometown supporting his family rather than going to an Ivy league school).

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