English Language Learner (ELL) Applications
Refugees from war-torn regions and those seeking political asylum are likely bringing with them memories of events they would rather not recall or discuss. Many experience symptoms that in the U.S. are labeled post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This profound fear and anxiety can influence the ELL student significantly.
PTSD represents the chronic effects of life-threatening experiences. The persistent, intense anxiety that is symptomatic of PTSD has a direct affect on the student’s ability to concentrate. Poor sleep patterns due to rumination and nightmares reduce attentiveness and thus, memory. Difficulty sustaining a full night’s sleep almost always accompanies this disorder.
Families may continue to experience loss and bereavement for relatives who have been left in their native country or killed. Persistent anxiety contributes, over time, to loss of neural tissue essential to forming memories.
Depression frequently occurs. Individuals who leave their homeland and face a foreign place, people, customs, and language often become depressed, particularly if they have left loved ones and/or friends behind and if they fear for their safety. Chronic depression is typically accompanied by cognitive changes such as reduced concentration, memory, and initiative. Anxiety and depression often co-occur in this population.
Economic hardship, difficulties acquiring citizenship, long waits for U.S. Immigration Services to approve visas for relatives, and family tensions present additional stressors, which make adjustment more difficult. Younger adults often find themselves in conflict with an older generation as well as their American peers as they try to resolve the demands of assimilation versus cultural preservation. It is not easy to deal with a dominant culture if it lacks understanding or respect for differences.
Many find it hard to resist maladaptive coping strategies, including substance abuse, spousal and child abuse.
Securing appropriate and accepted treatment for immigrants with a need for mental health services is difficult, even for more long-tenured refugees in Minnesota such as those from Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Central and South America. Health services are available with certain translators at several locations in the Twin Cities and Rochester, but mental health services are still provided almost exclusively in English, and there are strong cultural barriers to seeking treatment.
Services available with translators in Minneapolis and Rochester
Center for International Health, Regions Healthcare Center
Primary care and mental health services provided to a diverse population of patients, including refugees and immigrants who have settled in surrounding communities. Internal medicine, midwifery, behavioral health and health services from providers trained in a variety of cultures and languages are offered.
640 Jackson Street
St. Paul MN 51101
(651) 254-4767
Center for Victims of Torture
This center provides counseling for refugees and asylum seekers.
717 East River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 626-1400
www.crt.org
Community-University Healthcare Clinic
This mental health clinic provides translators in the following languages: Spanish, Vietnamese, Laotian, Somali, Hmong, Cambodian.
2001 Bloomington Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55404
(612) 638-0670
www.ahc.umn.edu/cuhcc/healthcareservices/mentalhealth/home.html
Health Partners Center for International Health
The mental health clinic of this medical center provides therapy for persons bringing with them to this area the trauma of war and relocation.
451 North Dunlap Street
St. Paul MN 55104
(651) 999-4740
www.healthpartners.com/locator/hpclinics/specialty/locations/detail.do?locationid-2439
Interpreting in Refugee Mental Health Settings
www.health.state.mn.us/dirs/idepc/refugee/guide/llinterpreters.html
Minnesota Refugee Health Provider Guide
www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/refugee/guide/10mentalhealth.html
North Psychology Clinic
This clinic is staffed by psychologists experienced in treating anxiety and depression among recent refugees. The patient must supply his or her own translator. An exceptional mental health translator is available for persons speaking Arabic, Russian or French.
5615 Brooklyn Boulevard
Brooklyn Center, MN 55429
(763) 531-0566
University of MN Center for Spirituality and Healing
This center for research and education in holistic healthcare hosts educational programs in cross-culture mental and physical health.
420 Delaware Street SE
5th Floor MMC #505
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 624-9459
Cultural Transition Counseling
Centro Cultural Chicano
Program provides mental health services. Those without insurance pay $30 for first visit and $10 for each visit thereafter.
1915 Chicago Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
www.centromn.org
Communidades Latinos Unidos en Servicios (CLUES)
720 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612) 746-3500
www.clues.org
New Hope Program
Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center
Program provides mental health and related services to refugee and new immigrants, including cross-cultural social adjustment counseling, diagnostic assessments, individual and family counseling, screening and referrals for psychiatric and chemical dependency needs, court-ordered counseling for DUI and other legal problems, bridges to other community social services. Staff includes mental health professional and bilingual counselors.
315 Elton Hills Drive
Rochester, MN 55901
(507) 287-2099 or (800) 422-0670
www.zumbromhc.org
Office of Multi-Cultural Services
Services in several languages regarding housing, employment, immigration problems, work experience, coping with the culture and more.
612-348-2193