TPC-Journal-V4-Issue4

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 4 328 understanding of cultural kinship could be an important first step in providing help (Keel & Drew, 2004). The results of this study indicated that fostering cultural connections may bring out natural strengths and support in the refugee community. Culturally appropriate trauma interventions. As counselors encounter refugees who have lived through war trauma, they will need to provide the necessary interventions to facilitate change. Interventions such as finding meaning, fulfillment and purpose may be used to address the losses endured and improve the mental health conditions of refugees in the new environment (Miller, Worthington, et al., 2002). It is suggested that treatment goals not avoid physical, psychological and emotional loss topics, but address those influences directly. Advocacy-service connections. In order to enhance mental health services that are accessible to everyone, counselors can take an active leadership role in promoting available services. Counselors can develop multilingual pamphlets explaining the counseling process, and conduct brief community outreach presentations, workshops and psychoeducational groups. However, counselors should not assume that war trauma necessarily results in mental health problems (Miller & Rasco, 2004); refugees in this study wanted to be in charge of their lives and pursue their own goals and ambitions. Counselors can organize and implement volunteer programs in communities so that soon after arrival to the United States, refugees can access volunteers’ skills and knowledge. School counselors can be helpful in providing information to refugees about the United States education system, building networks and finding information about further educational opportunities. Finding strength . Several participants talked about discovering strength and ingenuity that they did not know they possessed. As a result, several participants felt much stronger and had a sense that they could handle anything that came their way. Participants demonstrated resilience to stress and became active agents in determining their future. Based on the responses in this study, it is recommended that counselors acknowledge refugee strengths in meeting adversity. Counselors can do this by reinforcing a sense of normalcy in their clients’ current lives, embracing their sense of hope and safety, and recognizing their rich ethnic history and the complexity of their experiences. Some participants indicated that they were living productive and fulfilling lives despite the trauma they lived through. Conclusions This study demonstrated the depth of the trauma experiences that the 10 participants suffered in their homeland, which is consistent with previous literature that has focused on refugees from the former Yugoslavia and from other regions. The first set of stressors they experienced in their native country was compounded by a second set of stressors in their adaptation to the United States. The participants faced many difficulties in their adjustment to United States society and utilized a variety of strategies to overcome these hardships. In conclusion, mental health services should be part of the resettlement support that refugees receive immediately upon arrival in the United States. The findings of this study indicated that the mental health needs of this population were unmet. It is imperative that counselor education programs provide students with training in refugee issues. Practitioners need training in culturally sensitive approaches that will enable them to provide culturally sensitive interventions with this very specific population. It is hoped that such therapeutic services will allow refugees to live a life free of fear, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. After enduring traumatic experiences in their homeland, these refugees can move forward in their future as productive American citizens and permanent residents.