Wednesday March 22nd, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – MHTTC Webinar: Migration, Detention, and Separation: Traumas of Central American Children and Families – Register Here

Presenter Name: Luis Zayas, Ph.D., Professor & Sutherland Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin
Webinar Title/Topic: Migration, Detention, and Separation: Traumas of Central American Children and Families
Webinar Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Webinar Time: 12:00pm EST-1:30pm EST

Summary:
This webinar focuses on the plight of children and parents from Central America who have sought asylum in the U.S. Drawing on his research, clinical work, and the available literature, Zayas identifies the forces that drive families to make precarious journeys to safety and the effects of immigration detention. He then points to the numerous stressors and traumas suffered by children, operating from the perspectives of human attachment and mental health. Zayas poses critical questions for providers of all types who assess, treat, and organize services for these families.

Objectives:
1. Introduce participants to the stages of migration and the stressors and traumas children and parents face.
2. Discuss the mental health effects on children of detention and separation and illustrate the damage to child-parent attachment using empirical and theoretical perspectives.
3. Enhance participants’ knowledge and skills for assessing and developing service plans for children and families in their communities.

Speaker Bio:
Luis H. Zayas, Ph.D., is a Professor and the Sutherland Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, and Professor of Psychiatry at the Dell Medical School of The University of Texas at Austin. Zayas is both a social worker and developmental psychologist. His clinical work and research have focused on disadvantaged families, particularly Hispanic and other ethnic/racial minorities, and immigrant and refugee children and parents.

His research has been published in leading scientific journals. Zayas has lectured nationally and internationally and is a frequent commentator in Spanish- and English-language media including radio, television, and print publications on topics of mental health, immigration, and youth suicide.

His forthcoming book on refugee children and mothers from Central America who are held in U.S. detention centers and separated, titled Through Iceboxes and Kennels: How Immigration Detention Harms Children and Families, is due out in early 2023.