Q&A: Social work interventions with refugee populations

Q. How can social workers effectively assess and assist refugee populations?

A. Social work assessment of refugee populations will need to be sensitive to language, circumstance, and culture. For example, it is possible that a refugee may develop mental health symptoms after the initial resettlement time frame, but a mental health assessment could be challenged by the reality that the refugee’s native language lacks appropriate descriptors to describe mental health ailments. For this reason, psychosomatic complaints may be common among these individuals, but a more serious mental health diagnosis may be warranted. As a second example, it is possible that a refugee is in an unsafe situation (e.g., a victim of domestic violence) but reports feeling safe given their traditional notion of safety (e.g., no longer fleeing genocide or a war-torn nation). Conversely, a refugee child or elder may present as being neglected (e.g., wearing climate-inappropriate clothing), when in reality the refugee family is continuing with social norms traditional to their own place or origin. Social workers should consider both situational context and cultural norms in their assessment and make appropriate culturally sensitive referrals.

In each of these scenarios, it may be necessary to refer a refugee to a community cultural support broker program, if available, as these programs may be able to provide longer-term resettlement guidance after the initial resettlement time frame.

For more information, see Social Work: Strength-Based Practice in Hospital Case Management.

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