About the Network
Mental health and psychosocial support for refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of torture are increasingly necessary components of programs serving these populations. In addition, global and national crises have impacted immigrants seeking asylum and refugee resettlement. The increasing demand for support services over recent years has fueled the need for trained mental health professionals to provide these services. In the U.S., there is a significant need for asylum evaluations and other related evaluations in addition to other support services.
The increasing demand for wide-ranging services often far exceeds the supply of mental health professionals. The Refugee Mental Health Resource Network was founded to help meet this demand. The database of volunteer psychologists and mental health professionals composes a professional community within the U.S. and globally, helping to fill the need for evaluations, psychosocial support services, training, and staff support. APA Division 56 and co-sponsoring Divisions 35, 52, and 55 obtained a CODAPAR grant in 2016 from the American Psychological Association (APA) to partly subsidize and launch the project in 2017. Subsequently, Divisions 52 and co-sponsoring Divisions 56, 35, 38, and 7 obtained an APA CODAPAR grant in 2020 which is underway for 2021 to elevate the website and the global reach and increase security.
The names of psychologists and mental health professionals interested in volunteering are collected to support services to agencies and organizations serving refugees, migrants and internally displaced people (IDPs). Some volunteers have experience working with refugees, some have trauma experience, while others are new to working with these populations. Students have shown significant interest in receiving training to volunteer. Also included are psychologists interested in conducting research with refugees, migrants, and IDPs.
Non-profit organizations that provide services for these populations will be able to receive potential volunteers from the database.
To begin meeting the demand for training, 24 free webinars have been developed and provided since 2017, addressing various aspects of refugee services, including asylum evaluations. These webinars are available to volunteers with additional webinars in development. The database registration is open to submissions by volunteers.
Requests for further information can be made via our Contact page. We welcome your participation in this needed pro-bono humanitarian project.
Refugee Mental Health Resource Network