Best practices

CVT Literature Selection Q1 2021

This document is a resource for current literature, January through March, on the topic of the mental health status of and treatments for torture survivors, war trauma survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers. This also includes research in the area of social work that relates directly to the psychological well-being of these populations. The compilation below includes peer reviewed journal article citations in these areas and links to the publicly available abstracts and full text versions of these articles. It does not currently include articles on policy and advocacy.

For Providers on Telehealth.HHS.gov: New Telebehavioral Health Care Best Practice Guide

clipart of a person on a telehealth callTelehealth.HHS.gov has added a new best practice guide on telehealth for behavioral health care. Behavioral health – like other areas of health care – has changed significantly due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. It is now easier for mental health providers to offer and get reimbursed for telebehavioral health services. Telehealth can also make behavioral health services safer and more private and convenient for patients who can access care from their home. Find resources in the telebehavioral health best practice guide on getting started, developing a strategy, billing, preparing

CDC Article Highlights Trends in Health Centers’ Telehealth Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic

stockart of a telehealth session on a computerUsing data from 245 health centers that completed the voluntary weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey, a new CDC article reviews trends in telehealth use, including by U.S. Census region and urban/rural classification, during a 20-week period. Study results underscore the need to sustain expanded telehealth use among health centers and to continue to address barriers to telehealth adoption, particularly in the south and rural areas.

For more information about survey results—including links to dashboards—visit our Health Center COVID-19 Survey page.

CVT PATH Bibliography Q4 2020

CVT's Partners in Trauma Healing (PATH) creates bibliographies every quarter of resources for current literature on the topic of the mental health status of and treatments for torture survivors, war trauma survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers. This also includes research in the area of social work that relates directly to the psychological well-being of these populations. The compilation below includes peer reviewed journal article citations in these areas and links to the publicly available abstracts and full text versions of these articles.

National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) Website Now Live

The National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants logo. Background gradient from blue to light blue-green. Logo includes white circle.

Our CDC partners would like you to know that the National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants (NRC-RIM) has officially launched its website!

The National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM) is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide assistance and resources to state and local health departments working with refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. More than just a library, NRC-RIM empowers organizations to replicate best practices from across the country, increase their knowledge of key concepts for serving RIM communities, and ultimately serve more people than ever before. Whether you need COVID-19 translated materials (roughly 3,000 translated COVID-19 materials and resources in around 100 languages), COVID-19 vaccine toolkits or on-demand training, NRC-RIM has the resources you need right now. 

COVID Vaccinations: Practical and Ethical Considerations

 

Description

The COVID-19 crisis has particular implications for Survivors of Torture programs and non-hospital-based organizations are starting to ask questions about safely providing services now that vaccination is possible for many staff and clients. What are the ethical considerations about safely returning to in-person services? Do we need to mandate that staff get vaccinated? Clients? Can we still infect others if we have been vaccinated? How can we as providers assure our clients have current and accurate information on vaccination?

In this webinar, Dr. Rajeev Bais and Dr.

CVT PATH Bibliography Q3 2020

CVT's Partners in Trauma Healing (PATH) creates bibliographies every quarter of resources for current literature on the topic of the mental health status of and treatments for torture survivors, war trauma survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers. This also includes research in the areas of social work that relate directly to the psychological well-being of these populations. The bibliography includes peer-reviewed journal article citations in these areas; select original summaries of those articles; and links to the publicly available abstracts and full-text versions of these articles.

New SAMHSA Guidelines and Toolkit for Crisis Care

Crisis Cover: Meeting Needs, Saving Lives. Image of a floatation device with rope in water.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has published “Crisis Services: Meeting Needs, Saving Lives,” a compendium detailing crisis intervention services, best practices and related components of crisis services, for use by a wide array of community leaders and health care providers to work toward better outcomes for Americans in crisis.

Switchboard: New Information Guide on Preventing Occupational Hazards

Preventing Occupational Hazards by Promoting Organizational Resilience:

Refugee service providers are likely to experience occupational hazards, such as burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue, due to the nature of their work. During a pandemic, these hazards are more likely to occur. Switchboard's new information guide defines these hazards and includes organizational strategies for managing and addressing them so that staff can best support their clients and themselves. Click here to stream the accompanying webinar, which discusses both organizational and individual-level approaches. 

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Therapy and Justice Presentation Recording and Resources

In light of the recent events, there is a greater need now than ever to examine power and bias within therapy as well as amplify a multitude of perspectives on healing outside of Western, Eurocentric theories and ideologies. Robin Chancer, LCSW, a psychotherapist at Program for Torture Victims (PTV), presented on "Therapy and Justice: Unpacking Western Bias and Expanding Healing" back on August 10 and the recording and resources were shared. 

Description: Since the professionalization of psychology began, it has been modeled on white,

The Complex Care of a Torture Survivor in the United States: The Case of “Joshua.”

A new article published by Torture Journal, “The Complex Care of a Torture Survivor in the United States: The Case of “Joshua.”” was supported by the National Capacity Building (NCB) technical assistance project funded by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The authors argue that in order to effectively treat torture survivors, providers must understand and address multiple and complexly related factors. A Complex Care Approach (CCA), an adaptation of the Chronic Care Model, is presented and applied to a composite case of a former child soldier from Liberia who survived torture and is in the United States. The CCA includes five domains, including the Trauma Story, Bio-medical, Psychological, Social, and Spiritual domains.

CVT PATH Bibliography Q1 2020

CVT's Partners in Trauma Healing (PATH) creates bibliographies every quarter of resources for current literature on the topic of the mental health status of and treatments for torture survivors, war trauma survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers. This also includes research in the areas of social work that relate directly to the psychological well-being of these populations. The bibliography includes peer-reviewed journal article citations in these areas; select original summaries of those articles; and links to the publicly available abstracts and full-text versions of these articles.

Telemedicine in Mental Health

The National Capacity Building (NCB) Project at the Center for Victims of Torture is pleased to announce a two-part on-demand learning experience on using telehealth to provide mental health services for survivor of torture clients. This is an opportunity to learn about implementing telemental health from one of the foremost experts in the US on providing telemental health services and then connect with your colleagues to delve more deeply into the nuanced questions and dilemmas specific to delivery of services torture survivors via telemental health.  

  • Part One: Presentation and Interview by Eugene Augusterfer 
  • Part Two: Online Forum

Description

We start with a presentation by Eugene Augusterfer on the basics of providing mental health services through tele-health followed by an in-depth interview where Mr. Augusterfer answers questions on implementing telemental health in SOT programs. This presentation will help you understand what telemental health is; what technology is needed; what providers need to know to deliver telemental health effectively;  and includes protocols for both providers and clients that will help assure success.

The Science of Empathy, Empathic Reflection, and Empathic Regulation in Clinical Care

Scientific studies of the clinical impact of empathy have mushroomed over the past decade. The neurosciences have been linking the brain to social behaviors. For many, empathic listening to the trauma stories of torture survivors is seen as being at the heart of therapy. This webinar presents a brief overview of the history and science of empathy. The discovery of the biological basis of empathy "the mirror neurons” will be discussed.

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