Healing in Partnership
Healing in Partnership was a research, healing and training project focused on the St. Paul communities of the Karen from Burma, the Bhutanese, the Oromo from Ethiopia and the Somalis.
Healing in Partnership:
- Developed and implemented an easy-to-use mental health screening tool adapted for the refugee groups.
- Identified refugees who might be suffering from untreated trauma and referred individuals for further mental health care.
- Developed psychoeducation groups to help refugees understand the effects of war stress, loss, grief and the healing process, and to help them adjust to life in a new community.
- Trained refugee leaders on ways to promote healing in their communities.
- Shared project knowledge with mainstream clinics, mental health providers and refugee programs.
The video below featured a community leader working in partnership with CVT to help refugees and health care providers connect to promote healing within the Karen community. It was produced by the Minnesota Philanthropy Partners as part of their Nonprofits to Know video series.
Read about Dr. Patricia Shannon, the University of Minnesota professor who partnered with us on the project.
Healing in Partnership was funded by the Huss Foundation, Asian Pacific Endowment, a fund of the Minneapolis Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation, The Saint Paul Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, and the Medica Foundation
CVT Research Associate Patricia Shannon, PhD, LP, recently co-authored a study, Evaluating the Mental Health Training Needs of Community-based Organizations Serving Refugees. The study looked at the mental health knowledge and training needs of community-based organizations serving refugees, and makes policy recommendations to improve those services. The study was published in Advances in Social Work (Vol. 13 No. 2 2012). CVT is grateful to the St. Paul Foundation whose financial support made this work possible.
