How Trauma and Migration Affect the Treatment Process

In this episode of Let’s Talk, two immigrants and recovery experts Damir Utrzan, PhD, and Manuel Garcia speak with host William C. Moyers about the trauma that happens before and alongside migration, referencing their own experiences while they consider clinical solutions.
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People who migrate to the United States are often fleeing from unimaginable conflict and crisis. Their lives have been torn apart and their safety is threatened by war, natural disaster and other regional disruptions. These immigrants are brave enough not only to withstand the trauma, but to rise above it and seek out something better, travelling thousands of miles from home in order to feel safe again.
But the trauma doesn’t disappear upon arrival. There is healing work to be done to help them process those traumatic events. Which presents a question: How do we help immigrants in a manner that befits their experiences-that respects their history and attends to the problems without shrugging away the cultural and regional differences?
That’s where culturally-responsive care comes in.