Traumatized By The Conflict Of Others

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webinar course syllabus & to register.

Go HERE  to learn more and register.

Have you ever seen pictures like this one of the Syrian 5 year old boy, and knew that you really wanted to do something, but didn’t see how you could?  Perhaps, you thought that it’s too far away, or that you couldn’t do anything except donate money.  Or this one of families who have been separated-

A mental health diagnostic assessment report can be
 the difference between getting asylum or being deported.

There are people, including children, that have been exposed to hellish environments of man made terror and abuse that are in most major U.S. cities right now; hoping to find safety in America.  You can help men, women and children find a refuge here in the U.S. and explore a new dimension of practice and clinical development.  With just a little training and pro bono mentorship, your contribution of perhaps 10 hours in a year, may result in achieving safety, well-being, and even preserving of life; for a 17 year old fleeing abuse and violence.  Or, a battered and abused
immigrant wife.  Or a woman, whose family has declared an ‘honor killing’, in which any male family member is culturally authorized to kill her, because she had relations with someone outside her religion.  Or the homosexual man who is discriminated and abused in his home country.  In most cases of these injustices the authorities and native governments will not, or cannot, protect these individuals.  Read more below about the webinar training to get you started doing psychological assessments with immigrant teens and adults facing deportation.

If you are a psychotherapist, and are concerned that the American federal executive branch of government is attempting to turn away refugees from war torn Muslim countries, and demonizing immigrants from our southern borders.  Doing psychological evaluations, that assist in avoiding being deported back to those counties, is one humanistic response of helping those who’ve been oppressed.  Particularly with the new federal administration’s negative attitude toward immigrants; this project represents can by your activist resistance to xenophobia.

Clinicians may do just one of this type of case at pro bono or low fees.  You may find human rights work and forensic mental health work an additional practice area.  In my own story, 15% of my own practice consist of immigration evaluations.  See my Forensic Evaluations web page HERE.  I still do some pro bono and low fee work, but often I’m simply working at a rate of $250/hour for 8 – 15 hours on each evaluation.   A list of immigration lawyers, firms, and agencies interested using graduates; is being compiled.

People Who Are Captives In An Abusive Marriage

Let’s develop a pool of therapists willing to do pro bono and low fee psychological evaluations. The potential clients are unaccompanied child immigrants, immigrant victims of domestic violence, human trafficking other crime victims, and survivors of torture, hardship, and abuse.  You work with these clients by being referred by their immigration attorney.  Part of the course is describing ways to connect with these lawyers.  If you are a lawyer please add your name to the list we keep for use by clinicians completing the course.

The six hours of convenient distance learning webinar information and exercises.  It provides clinician attendees with enough information and learning experiences to begin conducting evaluations. There will be free monthly one hour webinar follow-up consultation with me available to support you from interviewing, report writing all the way through testifying.  Interns may take the course, but cannot write reports or testify until after they are licensed.

Marc Sadoff, LCSW

My name is Marc Sadoff, LCSW.  I’ve done 118 psychological evaluations for clients with hearings in immigration court.  I was accepted as expert in traumatic stress 70 of the 70 times that I’ve testified.   Since leaving the Program for Torture Victims in 2002, I continue to work in private practice with these, and other populations.

Hardship Cases Of Separation

This Psychological Evaluations & Expert Witness training for asylum & other immigration cases for therapists primarily covers asylum cases  However, the skills of interviewing and report writing are extremely useful in doing hardship, Violence Against Women (VAWA), U Visa & T Visa sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases.

The training can prepare you to approach immigration lawyers with your willingness to do pro bono psychological evaluations and expert witness testimony, if needed.  I’m motivated by the unaccompanied minor children at the border seeking asylum from countries with horrid conditions in Central America, but there are other types of cases needing the evaluation report that only mental health clinicians can perform.  For instance, any clinicians with experience with domestic violence victims or perpetrators, are already qualified as expert witness who can help immigrant victims of abuse.  Human sex trafficking and family separation extreme hardship applications are other types of cases which benefit by competent psychological evaluations.

Please join us in this humanistic effort to assist justice and promote mental health for individuals, families, and communities.

Go HERE  to be view the info and registration page for this on-demand training webinar.

Diagnostic Assessments To Help Immigrants Facing Deportation

Course Outline

The Law & Conducting The Interviews    

1. How clinicians are used as experts in trauma to help immigrants facing deportation.
2. Describing the need for the services.
3. Understanding/Addressing the needs of the client, the lawyer, and the judge.
4. Human & Sex Trafficking Visa Cases, Hardship Cases, Asylum Cases, Torture Cases and the Istanbul Protocol, VAWA Cases.
5. Preparing for the interviews.
6. Conducting the interview sessions.
7. Techniques of eliciting evidence of trauma in the interviews.

Writing The Report   

1. Legal issues and ethical considerations.
2. Technical tips for assembling your transcribed notes into a report template.
3. Mindfulness of detecting evidence of credibility.
4. Meeting the diagnostic requirements.
5. Ethical issues of consultations with the attorney.
6. Violence Against Women (& Men) Act- VAWA cases explained and simplified.

Working With The Lawyer   

1. Review of experiences writing the sample report.
2. Although there is very little testifying occurring recently, the experience of testifying in court is covered in brief, to help diminish anxiety.
3. Common situations and stories of immigrants and the symptoms that develop.
4. Finding lawyers to work with.  When and how to begin charging for these services.
5. Ethical issues and professionalism.  More practice skills for interviewing.
6. Testifying basics and preparation, if testifying is necessary.

I have been making myself available online through 2019, at no cost, to mentor and support newly trained clinicians through their first few evaluations. One aspect of doing this work is sometimes testifying in court to support your assessment report.  It’s very helpful to have an experienced evaluator, who has testified numerous times, help you through the process.   Although in many courts recently, and in all VAWA cases, there is no testimony required at all.

Join our free Mentoring/Consultation/Support online monthly Zoom meeting here- https://zoom.us/meeting/register/aa5cdc265ce88d8d34538d7d4481ef37

We meet online the last Friday of each month from 11 am to 12 noon PST Pacific Standard Time.

#AsylumPsychologicalEvaluationTraining

Please Join Us

As a mental health clinician, your evaluation and testimony can help these types of people seeking asylum in the U.S.  Many have endured a treacherous migration and they are wanting to avoid deportation back to dangerous and hostile countries.  Therapists often volunteer their clinical skills to help natural disasters and trauma.  In Immigration court, therapists can use their education, skills, and training to evaluate refugees and asylum seekers for illness; and the report that results can significantly influence the outcome of the hearing.  So, this is not clinical treatment, it is evaluation, assessment, report writing, and perhaps testifying.

Cost- $139.  including all the extras such as the free monthly mentoring support zoom meeting and shared group dropbox.  If you work for a Survivor of Torture or other agency that provides pro bono services for immigrants, the fee can be reduced further to $49. 

Refunds And Cancelation Policy

Refund requests must be made in writing via email. Please validate that your request got to Mr. Sadoff by receiving a confirmation response from him. If you didn’t receive an email confirmation of receipt of your request for a refund, or cancelation, then please call his office at 310-444-1951.  A full refund may be obtained if the cancelation is made at least 48 hours in advance of the webinar date.  No partial refunds. Refunds will be issued within 7 business days.

Americans with Disabilities Requests

Any requests for accommodations for a disability may be made directly to Mr. Sadoff by emailing Marc@RealHope.com

 Grievance Policy

Mr. Sadoff will make every effort to assure fair treatment for all participants and will attempt to anticipate problems. Yet, there may be issues that arise for participants. If you have a complaint or grievance please put it writing and contact Marc Sadoff, LCSW via email at Marc@RealHope.com or at his office at 310-444-1951

A participant may submit a written grievance about his or her experience with this webinar. If you have a concern or complaint about the course content, the refund policy or implementation, the CEU process or non-receipt of certificates, or the usability of the GoToTraining.com interface platform; Mr. Sadoff will respond within 3-5 business days to any problems which may arise as a result of this course offering. Mr. Sadoff will respond to all concerns and complaints in a timely and ethical manner.

#AsylumPsychologicalEvaluationTraining