APRRN 2011 East Asia Symposium & Refugee Mental Health Training

Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network

2011 East Asia Symposium

&

Refugee Mental Health Training

Hong Kong, 9-12 November 2011

Refugee Mental Health Training

9-11 November 2011, Hong Kong 

Venue:  Scout Centre, Room 1104, Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

This training will be useful for anyone who works directly with refugee clients, such as: lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, doctors, NGO staff, government immigration and social welfare officers, etc.  The modalities used during the training will include some lecture, discussions, small group sessions, role plays, and case presentations.  With a diverse group of participants we benefit from each participant’s expertise and experience.

This training will cover the following kinds of topics:

• Models of interventions when working with refugee populations
• What are traumatic experiences and what are the normal reactions to trauma
• The consequences of violence (physical, psychological, social, spiritual)
• How do you assess for suicide? 
• Learning to identify more serious mental health problems.
• The helping process
• Skills in interviewing
• Assessment of your client
• Developing a plan of action and treatment plan
• Specific interventions for mental disorders
• Making meaningful referrals
• Interventions with vulnerable groups:  Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV); Working with traumatized children and their families; etc.
• How to care for the caregivers in order to prevent burn out

Day three of the training will be targeted towards experienced therapists who are presently working with traumatized refugee clients; and there will be a detailed presentation on doing assessments and report writing according to the dictates of the Istanbul Protocol (so that these reports will be able to stand up in Court or in front of the UNHCR) which may in particular be interesting for lawyers and decision-makers.

The training will be facilitated by Ms. Adrienne Carter, M.S.W., R.C.S.W. who has spent many years working in the area of refugee mental health.  She has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières for the past 11 years and trained counselors in many different countries.  At present she is working with the Centre for Victims of Torture (CVT) and is placed in Kenya with a Human Rights organization as psychotherapist/trainer.  For a period of 9 months she is engaged in the capacity enhancement of local psychologists who are working with victims of torture throughout the country.

Instructions for Registration:

Register Online Here

(If the above link does not work, copy and paste the following web address into your browser:  http://refugeerightsasiapacific.org/2011/08/22/east-asia-symposium-refugee-mental-health-training/)

 Please register for the training online, or send your completed registration form expressing your interest in attending the training before 15 September 2011 to Christal Chan (online registration preferred):

l        Email: cchan@hkrac.org

l        Fax:  +852-3422-3019

l        Post:  Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, 86-88A Nathan Road, Unit 10B, Kowloon, Hong Kong

 This training is limited to 60 participants.  Priority will be given to those who work directly with refugee clients and also to diverse organizational and professional representation.  Beyond these priorities, participants will be selected on a first come, first served basis based on the date the registration form is received.  After registration, you will receive a confirmation email, and a fee of HK$1,000/person will be required to confirm your seat.

We look forward to your participation!

2011 East Asia Symposium

Beyond Asylum:  Refugee Policy in Practice and How Refugees Experience It (12 November 2011, Hong Kong)

Venue:  University of Hong Kong, Council Chambers

Following the three day training, a Symposium will be held on 12 November 2011 at the University of Hong Kong.  While the preceding training is closed to a maximum of 60 participants, the Symposium will be free and open to the public. 

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), together with key refugee advocates and practitioners are coming together to hold this symposium, with the aim of addressing a fundamental question: In practice how do you save lives, protect human rights, and provide for the diverse needs of vulnerable refugee populations with limited resources? 

This Symposium brings key actors from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau and Taiwan together to identify gaps and solutions, debate the key issues, and challenge misconceptions about the most vulnerable population in Asia: refugees.  Please RSVP to Flora Leung if you would like to attend at: fkleung@hku.hk. 

Refugee Mental Health Training Schedule – tentative2  Registration Form  Adrienne Carter’s Resume-November, 2010 

   http://refugeerightsasiapacific.org/2011/08/22/east-asia-symposium-refugee-mental-health-training