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Should the Trauma Experienced by Immigrant Youth be Addressed Within Schools?

Stephanie Carnes, PhD, MSW, LCSW, LL.M

February 15, 2024

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Question

Should the trauma experienced by immigrant youth be addressed within schools? 

Answer

A school social worker’s primary job is to support and facilitate academic learning in a traditional sense. However, many of the immigrant youth school social workers encounter do not need intensive trauma work. But they do need an opportunity to create a trauma narrative and to have someone bear witness to it. And, to have someone bear witness to their strength, their suffering, and to sort of help them create meaning out of it, so they can move forward.

Therefore, as school social worker working with immigrant youth, I did the trauma work in the school. It is not always pretty, but I think until the systems involved get better at responding to the needs of this population, we are ethically compelled to at least try to address these students’ trauma in the school setting.

 

This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the podcast,  School-based Work with Central American Immigrant Youth Podcast, presented by Stephanie Carnes, PhD, MSW, LCSW, LL.M


stephanie carnes

Stephanie Carnes, PhD, MSW, LCSW, LL.M

Dr. Stephanie Carnes, LCSW, LL.M is a bilingual social worker/PhD with over a decade of clinical, research, and advocacy experience in culturally responsive and sustaining education and mental health. In her clinical work, she primarily worked with Central American immigrant youth, first in a federally funded shelter program and subsequently at a large public high school in New York’s Westchester County. As a consultant, she regularly works with school districts and community organizations to provide professional development on culturally responsive education and supporting the development of policies and practices to support newcomer immigrant students. Additionally, she has conducted extensive research on interdisciplinary collaboration and burnout in public schools and works closely with schools to help professionals and educators develop personalized “toolkits” for effective self-care. Dr. Carnes is a member of the School Social Workers Association of America (SSWAA) National Working Group on SEL, an advisory board shaping school social work policy. She frequently authors peer-reviewed articles related to culturally responsive education and mental health with refugee and immigrant youth.


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