Haram Fatima, Ashli Owen Smith, Mary Helen O'Connor, Armenda Bialas, Kaeden Tun

Purpose Domain Key Themes Quotes

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a
Mental Health (MH) services intervention for Feelings of excitement to have a chance to express "I can now feel it is "I feared talking to people or being alone. I
RIM individuals by documenting the number of feelings not impossible not to was continuously thinking about things going
clients served, client satisfaction with mental Initial reactions/ Feelings of optimism that health will improve, fear those things. I on around me. Now, I am not worried at all.
expectations stress/fear/worry will decrease, will receive
health services, and changes in clients' mental guidance to help navigate problems believe it is possible". All the fears have left me."
health outcomes.
Feelings of doubt that healing/recovery is possible
Background
Prevalence of MH-related illnesses in RIM Transportation "I thought it
Time constraints "I can now feel it is not
population is 86% compared to 8% in the general Barriers to access Language impossible not to fear those
would be good "The counselor would
[1]
population. Self-limiting beliefs (It's difficult for me) for me to talk tell me: what I should
things. I believe it is possible."
Barriers to accessing MH services: affordability, to these people do, when I could not
language barriers, limited health literacy, cultural Interpretation services and virtual sessions. and when I did, decide anything."
stigma, and lack of transportation. Assistance and support of IRC staff. "The counselor everything
Clarkston, Georgia hosts more than 60,000 RIM Facilitators to access Counselor skills (Empathy). went back to
Safe and confidential environment at IRC. would tell me:
individuals from 40 different countries; 40% of what I should do, normal slowly"
Transportation assistance/female drivers.
those screened in a community health clinic we when I could not
[2]
diagnosed with least one psychiatric condition. decide anything"

MH care in Clarkston is scarce. Feeling comfortable with counselor, allows for

Experiences with sharing personal experiences openly. "Their honesty and ethical
Program Description counselor C are open/honest, understanding,provide
Counselors conduct helped me the most.
helpful guidance/support for navigating challenges. "If someone will be worried, I will tell them that The way they treated me like
The Clarkston Mental Health Alliance (MHA) a sister during the counseling
aims to provide culturally- and linguistically IRC has this initiative, and they can avail of
that. I will tell them that their mental situation was the reason I was
responsive, trauma-sensitive care by integrating Paradigm shift: It’s possible to overcome fear; can extremely satisfied with the
mental health services within the pre-existing achieve anything. will completely change for the better."
services."
infrastructure of a large refugee resettlement Changes in attitudes, Transition from confused to courageous.
Not tense, scared and worried any more.
organization [the International Rescue Committee beliefs and behavior Fear of talking to people disappeared. Discussion
(IRC)]. Individual therapy is provided by 5- Optimistic about life.
Masters-level counselors. The integration of mental health services within a resettlement agency was
Enjoys spending time with people now.
perceived as beneficial by clients. Specifically, clients consistently reported
Methods positive and helpful interactions with their counselors, and believed that
We recruited 9 clients who completed at least 4 Services exceeded expectations; never believed the counseling sessions were impactful.
individual therapy sessions over the course of 7 would have ability to overcome and forget This research supports previous findings that providing transportation
months. Met Expectations problems. and language assistance facilitates access to mental health care for RIM
Semi-structured qualitative interview recorded, Met expectations, as needed someone who can one populations.
openely talked to.
translated, and professionally transcribed. Only 50% expectations met. Areas of improvement include offering more services (e.g., self-help
Participant responses were coded for content using classes, educational programs to address mental health stigma) and more
a rapid analysis approach. transportation services.

Clients should recommend the program to people in
Client Demographics their community This study has several limitations, including a small sample size and our

8.3% Provide other self-help classes (e.g., what to do reliance on translators (thus transcriptions may be slightly different than
English 8.3%
8.3% Dari 41.7% How to improve when bored) what was intended by the client)
Tigrinya 8.3%

the program Explain in classes/through education about mental Overall the program is meeting its goals of improving access to mental
41.7%
health in a non-stigmatized way.
Urdu 25% Improve transportation. health care for RIM communities. Next steps include conducting
Female N=7
Male N=2
additional interviews and surveys with clients.
25%
Pashto 16.7% [1]: Steel, Z., Chey, T., Silove, D., Marnane, C., Bryant, R. A., & van Ommeren, M. (2009). Association of torture and other potentially traumatic events with mental health outcomes among populations exposed to mass conflict and displacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA, 302(5), 537–549. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2009.1132
0 2 4 6 8 [2]: British Broadcasting System (BBC). The 'most diverse square mile' in America. 2015; https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p038xm0s. Accessed October 17, 2020