This chapter examines the psychological and mental health consequences of migration on immigrants and refugees. The chapter details how the events which forced the migration, the flight itself, and the marginalization in the host country result in triple trauma. The chapter then provides strategies to support immigrant communities in their journey toward resiliency. Some key approaches in treatment and practice include considering individuals’ culture and values, in determining the most effective methods of therapy and intervention for trauma-impacted individuals.

This chapter covers the connections between the criminal justice system and immigration—crimimmigration. The chapter examines the challenges that noncitizens—immigrants, refugees and the undocumented—face when navigating the criminal justice system, specifically the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction. The chapter also explores as the role that race and ethnicity play in how noncitizens interact with and are treated within the system. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the role of social workers in crimmigration, through an exploration of various methods in which they may advocate for immigrants within the criminal justice system, including education, support, and resistance.

This chapter covers the intersection of immigration and employment. It includes the various dynamics that come into play when immigrants join the workforce, including the barriers they may face in employer hiring practices such as discrimination or a lack of documentation. It then discusses the numerous challenges and violations of labor rights that immigrants may encounter once they are in the workforce. It concludes with a critical examination of several methods of remedying labor violations, and how different strategies may help to enforce workplace rights for individual immigrants and immigrant communities.

This chapter offers some insights into the collective health of immigrant communities in the United States. First, the chapter reviews the epidemiology of major public health conditions, life expectancy and mortality rates for immigrant groups. Second, the chapter focuses on public health policy issues related to immigration ranging from admissions to the United States, health insurance coverage, and access to primary care. The chapter ends with a discussion of using a health equity framework for developing an immigrant public health agenda rooted in principles of social work theory and practice.

This chapter looks briefly on international policies on immigrants and then focuses on immigration patterns in the United States. The importance of migration is discussed followed by a brief history of changing immigration policies. Policies are often determined by social and economic trends as well as concerns for human rights and justice. The application of these policies at the current time and its implications for social work practice and education conclude this chapter.

Historically, social work practice with immigrants has focused on young families and children. With the demographic aging of the world’s population in the 20th and 21st centuries, this has begun to change. Even so, gerontological social work in general has been slow to develop fully in the social work profession and even slower to work with aging immigrants. With global aging, immigrants have become older as well, both in terms of those who immigrated at a younger age and aged with unresolved immigrant status, and those who immigrated as older adults. While the U.S. social welfare system was initially open to older immigrants, eligibility criteria began to tighten in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming increasingly restrictive by the 21st century. Community-based services provided through the aging service network and adult protective service programs continue to be open to older adults regardless of citizenship status, however public entitlements that fund cash grant assistance programs, long-term care services and health care are limited, and often unavailable. Social workers need to develop not only culturally sensitive practice skills but also a sophisticated understanding of social welfare benefits and programs for which older adult immigrant clients are eligible. The social work code of ethics requires that practice skills include advocacy with government and service programs to ensure that older adult immigrants are provided those services and resources needed to live safe and dignified lives.

This chapter examines the various issues immigrants may experience regarding access to health services within the U.S. healthcare system. The chapter describes current federal legislation governing healthcare issues facing immigrants and refugees, covering how immigration status (documented vs. undocumented, etc.) impacts access to healthcare. The chapter also examines the numerous barriers in place impacting immigrants in accessing healthcare, as well as macro public health issues affecting immigrant communities. The chapter concludes with recommendations for social workers when providing healthcare in immigrant and refugee communities.

This chapter provides highlights of past and current instances of the forced movement of people. From the current universally accepted definition of refugee as defined by the United Nations, the chapter then describes how Africa and Latin America expand the definition. The chapter then provides a framework of the three durable solutions for refugee protection. Against that backdrop, the chapter concludes by describing the process resettlement for refugees outside of the United States as well as the process for applying for asylum for those persons already in the United States.

This chapter discusses issues that confront immigrant children and parents and those attempting to help them navigate the American educational system. Besides describing legal rights and procedures, the chapter suggests practical approaches that social workers can use in helping families advocate for the educational services their children may need.

This chapter provides an overview of terminology and methods to enter the United States. The chapter begins with a description of short-term strategies to enter the United States as nonimmigrants: to visit, to study, to work temporarily. The chapter then describes methods by which individuals can enter or stay in the United States permanently through a family sponsorship, work sponsorship, or as refugees. The chapter then provides a description of reasons the government uses to exclude individuals from entering; and for those already here, the chapter describes government policies to deport. The chapter concludes with how lawful permanent resident can take the final step and become U.S. citizens.

This chapter convers the intersection of immigrants and housing rights, access, and eligibility. The chapter covers key legislation providing for affordable and public housing. The chapter further describes challenges to housing access, based on immigration status and the Public Charge Rule. The chapter concludes with discussion of homeownership which allows immigrants to build wealth and contribute to society.

This chapter describes the vital role that nonprofits play in supporting immigrants and refugees in their integration into their communities and their continued resiliency. The chapter lists the four core areas or competencies at work in making nonprofits effective: programs and services that meet the needs of the communities served; human resources staff and volunteers who are bilingual/bicultural; a board of directors that lives, works, or plays where the immigrant community lives and understands their challenges as well as assets; and operations such as marketing that ensure that immigrants know about and can access the nonprofit organization.

This chapter covers government public benefits availability and eligibility depending on immigration legal status. The chapter explores how the law categorizes different immigrant groups to determine their eligibility, based on definitions such as “qualified” and “unqualified” for benefits. The chapter provides an overview of access to major federal benefit programs and services, and examines numerous social, personal, and systemic barriers that immigrants may face in pursuing and obtaining public benefits. The chapter concludes with advocacy recommendations to ensure immigrant communities’ eligibility and ability to federal public benefits programs.

Effective practice with immigrants promotes their well-being and should be guided by several considerations that include a multisystem perspective, theoretical perspectives that illuminate their challenges and lived experience, and is based on family assessment and culturally competent skills. In line with this, this chapter focuses on several specific considerations. For one, there is a need to understand immigrant experiences within a multitude of considerations that include psychological, emotional, interpersonal, familial, economic, and government policy factors. Moreover, family systems and ecosystems theories are proposed to illuminate family and intergenerational dynamics, adaptation, and contextual factors that are essential to apply in the process of individualizing what is unique to immigrant clients. Perspectives such intersectionality, oppression, and cultural humility are discussed as essential for social workers to engage and work with immigrants. We emphasize how current perspectives on culturally relevant practice are premised on antioppression values and skills. Finally, we focus on the importance of practitioners having knowledge and skills in the application of the culturagram as a family assessment tool and culturally relevant, antioppression intervention with immigrants.

This chapter covers the nuances of gender-based violence (GBV) toward women in immigrant communities. It begins by describing the various dynamics, risk factors, and consequences of GBV against immigrant women. The discussion provides an overview of the numerous types of GBV, sociocultural and sociopolitical factors, as well as cultural context and norms. The chapter concludes with recommendations for social workers in considering and addressing of GBV in immigrant communities.

Perhaps the most stigmatized and misunderstood group of people with disabilities are those who live with a psychiatric or mental illness. People with psychiatric disabilities warrant their own historical account, which differs from Fox and Marini’s history in Chapter 1, primarily because throughout history those with mental illness have at times been demonized, misunderstood as witches, put in prisons, and often subjected to inhumane treatment. The purpose of this chapter is to explore this history from the Middle Ages to the present day, noting the trials and tribulations of a population that continues to remain poorly understood and misperceived by the general public.

This chapter discusses sexuality in relation to disability, beginning with a discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation. Misconceptions and myths related to sexuality among persons with disabilities are presented along with issues of stigmatization and its impact on body image and self-esteem. This chapter focuses on disability and intimate relationships and differentiates issues based on the type of disability, severity of disability, and type of relationship. In addition, parenting with a disability and sexual abuse of persons with disabilities are discussed. A number of legal and ethical issues of controversy are presented, including cosmetic surgery to mask disability, sexual surrogates, selective abortion based on disability, and forced sterilization.

This chapter examines seven of the most cited theories regarding how persons with disabilities come to terms with or adapt to a congenital or traumatic acquired disability. Adjustment, adaptation, and response are all used interchangeably to explain how individuals adapt when faced with such life-altering changes, where some respond by thriving and others succumb to their disability. Theories of adjustment covered in this chapter range from the linear stage model, recurrent adaptation model, complex ecological models of adjustment, other nonlinear models exploring chaos, perceived threat, and perceived value system. Additional adaptation concepts are explored as well as an analysis of the intercomplexity of how these theories overlap with one another.

The structure of families has changed over the course of history. The “traditional” family unit of mother, father, and children residing together until the children reached the age of majority then relocating to their own domicile to begin their own family still exists, but is not the only model of family. Families may have just one parent or other extended family members in the home. New partners result in blended families with multiple parental figures. For the hundreds of thousands of children experiencing abuse or neglect at the hands of parents, family may mean grandparents, other family members, or families that are created through the state foster care system. Families also grow and expand through adoption. Regardless of the composition, family is the first and primary support network for a child. Culture, tradition, roles, and relationships are learned through the family. At the most fundamental level, family units provide the basic components necessary for survival of children. Families also promote the successful growth and development of children, with societal expectations being that children will learn the skills needed to become independent and successful. Typically, when a child completes high school, they move on to the next rite of passage of higher education, employment, or military service. Each of these transitions generally includes exit from the family home at some point along the way. For families that include children with disabilities, expectations for these transitions may be perceived very differently. It was not that long ago when there was a stigma attached to having a child with a disability. Historically, children with disabilities were hidden away, segregated, and institutionalized. However, parents have also played a major role in the history of the disability rights movement. Parent movements have mobilized for change in care and influenced policy and legislation for children with disabilities, demanding that their children not be hidden from their communities in institutions, but rather live in the family home. Parental influence is found in changes in healthcare, education, community living, and employment. Parents recognized the inaccuracies of systems indicating that their children with disabilities were uneducable, unfixable, and “less than” with no prospects of contributing to society. Families have spurred education legislation that gave children the right to a free and appropriate public education through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its amendments. In this chapter, we provide an overview of healthcare, education, and policy from the vantage point of families.

Treatment and attitudes toward persons with disabilities (PWDs) in America, and abroad, has drastically changed over two millennium from shunning, infanticide, demonization, and imprisonment, to the last 200 years of oppression, prejudice, discrimination, sterilization, and extermination. Treatment has become more humane and accepting since World War II; however, equality regarding employment, housing, medical care, physical access, and attitudes remain sporadic across America. This chapter focuses on the history of such treatment and prevailing attitudes toward PWDs over time, primarily their treatment in America.

Oppression, discrimination, and inequities toward persons with disabilities and those of minority status are nothing new to billions of individuals across the globe. Such inequities oftentimes result in poor healthcare, poverty, higher unemployment, and social opportunities. This chapter explores how disability and persons of minority are viewed and treated across the globe, particularly focusing on the social injustice that occurs in the United States. Social justice counselors are trained specifically to identify inequities and advocate for individuals who are unjustly treated and unable to receive the services they need to reach a respectable quality of life.

Microaggressions are the reflection of implicit bias toward people with oppressed identities in the way of subtle insults and slights. Microaggressions can be expressed verbally, behaviorally, and environmentally, and due to the ambiguous nature of the microaggressions and the possible power difference between the perpetrator and the target, it is not usually easy to respond to microaggressions. As a minority, disabled people are also targets of microaggressions as a reflection of the ableist worldview. Growing research on ableist microaggressions shows that those daily experiences are linked to lower levels of well-being. Existing in an ableist society, counselors may also commit ableist microaggressions which would impact the counseling outcomes. However, through reflection and accountability, counselors can address those ruptures and help their clients more effectively. Also, counselors can validate their client’s experience of microaggressions and work with them on possible micro-interventions. As possible targets or allies, counselors also can respond to ableist microaggressions to make the invisible visible, educate the perpetrators, or disarm microaggressions that are impacting disabled people daily.

This chapter discusses the medical, physical, psychosocial, and psychological costs of war on civilian populations of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Using a global perspective of premigration, migration, and postmigration resettlement patterns, readers are offered government and public health guidelines and considerations for the triage and the screening, diagnosis, treatment, and preventative measures that allow for the successful transition to lawful permanent U.S. citizenship. Psychosocial counseling issues are described to differentiate Western-based traumatic experiences from the unique complex traumatic experiences of civilians from poor and war-torn countries. Clinically significant symptoms and psychosocial issues are identified as they related to the dehumanizing treatment, social and civil injustices, and physical and psychological violence experienced in the lives of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in pursuit of humanitarian aid in other countries.</p>

This chapter focuses on where rehabilitation counseling has been and our current global conditions in relation to the evolution of changes counselors must make to assist and empower those with disabilities and other disenfranchised groups. As social inequities in America and globally continue to separate the haves from the have-nots, rehabilitation counselors must adapt and expand their skills to ensure the disenfranchised have a level playing field on which to thrive and sustain a good quality of life.

This chapter discusses the psychosocial aspects of grief, dying, and death. Psychosocial counseling issues are described to differentiate counseling persons with chronic illnesses and disability and the unique concerns in counseling persons with life-threatening illness and disability. This chapter recognizes the losses associated with persons who have reduced functional capacity for independence and quality of life due to life-threatening illness. Caregiver stress and the psychological and emotional impact on family are explored. Clinically significant issues are identified as they relate to the DSM-5 description of Persistent and Complex Bereavement Disorder and the newer DSM-5 text revision (DSM-5-TR) diagnostic category of Prolonged Grief Disorder.

Religious perspectives on disability have significant implications for how individuals with disabilities are perceived and treated within their society. Not only do these perspectives shape ableist attitudes and cultural and social acceptance of persons with disabilities (PWDs), but they also impact the fundamental legal rights of PWDs (Pardeck et al., 2012; Smart, 2016) and prevent them from accessing opportunities and community participation (Mukushi et al., 2019). These perspectives are historical, contextual, and cultural in nature and have evolved with the changing times. However, it would be naive to assume or suggest that all the negative religious perspectives have changed within a country as religiously diverse as the United States. This chapter reviews the major religions in the United States and their perspectives on disability. It discusses the historical factors that shaped the emergence of the predominant religious views in the United States. It also examines contextual factors and trends and their influence on religious perspectives of disability. The chapter also explores the influence of spiritual beliefs on adjustment and adaptation to disability, including how religious and spiritual beliefs shape family responses to having a child with a disability.

In this chapter, the definition for assistive technology (AT) is introduced from a legislative and historical lens. AT can be a promising tool for promoting quality of life among individuals with disabilities. The range of potential impacts includes facilitating education, employment, leisure, and community involvement. However, AT is not without its challenges. In particular, there is no one profession that alone possesses all the knowledge and skills necessary to provide comprehensive AT service. In response, this chapter presents several models suited to guiding the AT selection process as well as a team approach to AT service. Ethical considerations for providing AT services are also discussed.

Every day women, men, nonbinary individuals, and LGBTQP+ and individuals with disabilities experience abuse, whether it be financial, physical, psychological, sexual, or neglect. Certain groups and individuals with intersectional identities are at heightened risk for all types of abuse, including relationship violence. Individuals with disabilities, LGBTQP+, and those who are gender expansive face unique types of abuse in addition to traditional forms. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model illustrates how historical influence, socioeconomic status, housing insecurity, geographical location, gender identity, and bidirectional effects with children can interfere with leaving an abusive partner. Responding well begins with learning deeply about subcultures; listening carefully; and providing culturally sensitive, client-centered, and disability-related accommodations in safety planning.