New Mexico’s Refugee Mental Health Program

1. New Mexico’s Refugee Mental Health Program Amber Gray, MPH, MA, LPCC, BC-DMT, NCC State Refugee Mental Health Coordinator Amber.Gray@State.nm.us restorativeresources@gmail.com

2. New Mexico’s State Refugee Mental Health Program began in 2006 • Following 6 months of resource and needs assessment; the following services were established: • Screening (primary and secondary) and assessment/referral • Primary screening is done as part of refugees’ health screening at our DOH Public Health office • Secondary Screening is done by our Refugee Mental Health Coordinator (“RMHC”) at our DOH Public Health office

3. Assessment and Referral • Consists of an in depth, narrative history and story, conducted by the RMHC. When appropriate, standardized tools (Hopkins anxiety/depression; Foa PTSD; RMSC torture and war; RHS-1 (Hollifield); Quality of Life Scale for Refugees/Asylees/Asylum Seekers; UCLA PTSD indices; etc.) are used. • Referrals are made to an increasingly specialized group of providers (Jessi Cross, BC-ATR; Dr. Brian Isaakson; Dr. Shannon Stromberg and team; Dr. Bill Wagner; Amber Gray, LPCC, BC-DMT). There is an increasing need for “specialized” (i.e refugee-centric, cross-culturally and trauma-informed) treatment.

4. Additional Services in theState Refugee Mental Health Program • Ongoing Follow-up for refugees waiting for referrals and treatment (provided by the RMHC) • Coordination of networking meetings, case consults, and the recently formed Refugee Mental Health and Policy Task Force • Training is available for providers and organizations on the following topics: • Introduction to Refugee Mental Health 1 & 2 • Culture as Resource • Somatic and Arts-based therapies for cross-cultural therapy • Tending the Helper’s Fire: Self Care and Organizational Staff Care • …and more • For program, referral, training and in-service inquires: Amber.Gray@state.nm.us; amber@ecentral.com