Since 2005 I have been performing forensic evaluations of applicants for asylum in the U.S. for the Human Rights Clinic of Healthright International [formerly known as Doctors of the World USA]. Persons seeking asylum in the U.S. based on persecution, torture, or domestic violence in their country of origins are processed through the judicial system of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement [ICE]. Volunteer physicians perform physical evaluations, and volunteer mental health professionals such as myself perform forensic psychological evaluations, prepare affidavits for immigration proceedings and testify in court as needed. If you are interested in volunteering for this work you must be a licensed mental health professional. I have provided links below to Healthright International Human Rights Clinic, to the Physicians for Human Rights torture page, Psychologists for Social Responsibility Political Asylum Project, and the Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture where you will get further information on this kind of work.
Physicians for Human Rights Torture and Asylum information
Psychologists for Social Responsibility Political Asylum Project
Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture
Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization
In 2016, in collaboration with Healthright International Human Rights Clinic and Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University, I wrotewrote a grant that has been funded to enhance services for refugee children and families in the Long Island region. We have trained select Adelphi clinical psychology Ph.D. students and faculty to perform evaluations, and we anticipate offering additional clinical services to this population at Adelphi in the near future.