Teaching Integrative Social Work Practice with Displaced Persons

There are currently more forcibly displaced persons around the world than ever before recorded. With histories of human rights violations and unrelenting instability and danger, survivors live at the intersection of racial, social, and political injustices. The impacts of this global issue are broad and complex, and many responders to humanitarian crises are insufficiently trained and supported. Currently, the field of humanitarian response is led by practitioners in public health, public policy, and international development, whose approach - while proper for their respective fields - may contribute to fragmented response and services provided to the displaced population. The core values and principles of social work that guide our person-centered care, culturally-informed and anti-oppressive practice, and multi-systems approach, align with humanitarian response needs, thus positioning social workers to have increased leadership in establishing policy and practice responses, engaging in research, and practicing directly with forcibly displaced populations. The specialized knowledge and skills needed to work effectively and ethically in the humanitarian field can be challenging to teach to students with limited field experience who are just beginning their social work career.

This workshop will present innovative pedagogical methods to train future social work practitioners and researchers, and to deepen the knowledge and skills of current social workers in the humanitarian response field. The workshop includes a panel of five social work scholars, teachers and practitioners who are editors and contributors to an upcoming book on integrative social work practice with forcibly displaced persons. Specializing in various fields of social work practice with survivors of persecution and forced displacement, the panelists will discuss the need and tools for integrative training to prepare social work practitioners to effectively promote healing, justice and coordinated client-centered responses for displaced groups. Perspectives from macro, mezzo and micro levels of practice, as well as innovative pedagogies for educating holistic social work practitioners-in-training will be discussed in this panel.

In a lightning round of presentations, the panelist will first provide theoretical and practical background, highlighting some of the necessary skills and areas of training included in the book. The workshop will then use small group discussions on practice with forcibly displaced persons facilitated by each panelist and focused on 1) Integration of Practice and Theory, 2) Clinical Social Work Practice Grounded in Human Rights and Social Justice Principles, 3) Trauma-Informed Practice, 4) Practice with Asylum-Seekers and 5) Practice with LGBTQI+ migrants, where attendees can bring their experiences and challenges to workshop with the panelists. The workshop will conclude with a discussion on the application of pedagogical recommendations.