You Will Never See Your Child Again” The Persistent Psychological Effects of Family Separation
Source: Physicians for Human Rights
Resource Type: Documents and Publications
Focus Population: Diverse Communities, Family Members, Peers/Clients/Consumers
Topics: Behavioral Health Services, Best Practices, Community Defined or Evidence Based Practices, Trauma-Informed Care
Physicians for Human Rights interviewed parents and children who were separated by the Trump Administration at the Southern Border in 2018. Despite the fact that all but one of the families had been reunited, clinicians found all adults and children showed sign of lingering effects of the separation itself, not just signs of distress from conditions they were fleeing in their home countries. In every instance clinicians stated that their interviewees should receive mental health support and treatment.