New Mexico’s
Refugee Mental Health Program
Amber Gray, MPH, MA, LPCC, BC-DMT, NCC
State Refugee Mental Health Coordinator
Amber.Gray@State.nm.us
restorativeresources@gmail.com
New Mexico’s State Refugee Mental
Health Program began in 2006
• Following 6 months of resource and needs
assessment; the following services were
established:
– Screening (primary and secondary) and
assessment/referral
• Primary screening is done as part of refugees’ health
screening at our DOH Public Health office
• Secondary Screening is done by our Refugee Mental
Health Coordinator (“RMHC”) at our DOH Public Health
office
Assessment and Referral
• Consists of an in depth, narrative history and story,
conducted by the RMHC. When appropriate,
standardized tools (Hopkins anxiety/depression; Foa
PTSD; RMSC torture and war; RHS-1 (Hollifield); Quality
of Life Scale for Refugees/Asylees/Asylum Seekers;
UCLA PTSD indices; etc.) are used.
• Referrals are made to an increasingly specialized group
of providers (Jessi Cross, BC-ATR; Dr. Brian Isaakson; Dr.
Shannon Stromberg and team; Dr. Bill Wagner; Amber
Gray, LPCC, BC-DMT). There is an increasing need for
“specialized” (i.e refugee-centric, cross-culturally and
trauma-informed) treatment.
Additional Services
in the
State
Refugee
Mental
Health
Program
• Ongoing Follow-up for refugees waiting for referrals and
treatment (provided by the RMHC)
• Coordination of networking meetings, case consults, and
the recently formed Refugee Mental Health and Policy Task
Force
• Training is available for providers and organizations on the
following topics:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introduction to Refugee Mental Health 1 & 2
Culture as Resource
Somatic and Arts-based therapies for cross-cultural therapy
Tending the Helper’s Fire: Self Care and Organizational Staff Care
…and more
For program, referral, training and in-service inquires:
Amber.Gray@state.nm.us; amber@ecentral.com