Elizabeth Carll
Section Editor; Founder and Chair of the Refugee Mental Health Resource Network
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE UPDATE
Division 56 provides an annual $1,000 travel stipend for international students who are citizens of developing countries to attend the APA Convention. The award is a project of the International Committee with a subcommittee determining a recipient who is (a) enrolled in a graduate psychology program and (b) has a trauma-related poster / paper accepted or is a panel / symposium participant at the convention. The convention is virtual this year and travel will not take place, yet support for international students from developing countries engaged in trauma-related research and activities is important to continue, especially given the challenges resulting from the pandemic. Therefore, it was decided that the stipend will be awarded for the virtual presentation at the 2021 APA Convention.
As the stipend was not awarded last year due to the pandemic, the funds were rolled over to this year, resulting in two stipends being awarded for 2021. The recipients are:
- Janet Surum, a citizen of Kenya
- Rita Rivera, a citizen of Honduras
The students will be recognized at the DIV56 virtual social hour to take place on Saturday, August 14. The social hour time will be posted. More information on the recipients will be in the Fall issue of TPN.
Refugee Mental Health Resource Network Update: An APA Interdivisional Project
The Refugee Mental Health Resource Network (RMHRN) webinar series continues to expand with the 21st free webinar in July 2021. This recent webinar, Addressing the Mental Health of Venezuelan Migrant Children and Adolescents in Colombia, was unique as it focused on aspects of refugees and migrant children and adolescents not previously addressed, who travel each day from their home country to another country to attend school, a route that is often fraught with danger. Imagine having to live in two worlds during upheaval and conflict. These youth are referred to as pendular migrants. This phenomenon is unfamiliar to many, resulting in multiple contextual, political, and economic challenges that affect their mental health. The presenters, Dr. Leonidas Castro-Camacho, Carolina Parada, and Julian Moreno, did an excellent job in describing the difficulties and issues faced by pendular migrants and their research with this population. We will hear more in the future. Previous webinars are available on the DIV56 website with APA Continuing Education as an option for a nominal fee.
The RMHRN received a second APA (CODAPAR) grant for 2021, subsidizing the upgrade and increased security of the RMHRN website to assist in locating appropriately skilled volunteers for various activities (e.g., asylum evaluations, mental health support, training) and expanding international reach and volunteers. This grant was sponsored by Division 52 with Divisions 56, 7, 35, 38 as cosponsors. An initial 2016 CODAPAR grant helped launch the RMHRN and was sponsored by Division 56 and cosponsored by Divisions 52, 35, 55. Please contact ecarll@optonline.net with any suggestions. [View full article…]
