A team of Counseling and Counselor Education graduate students from Syracuse University’s School of Education have received a select award from the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC).
The 2024 Multicultural Assessment and Research in Counseling award goes to Sarah Litt, Eunji Park, Kahyen Shin, and Xihe Tian. This annual grant honors AARC student members who seek to complete assessment or research initiatives that have a multicultural or social justice focus. Examples of such projects include instrument development and/or validation; program evaluation; and qualitative, mixed-methods, or quantitative investigations.
“This is great news regarding student achievement. Only one project is sponsored through this award each year,” explains Yanhong Liu, Associate Professor of Counseling and Counselor Education.
The students’ project seeks to meet the critical need to understand the mental health needs of refugees resettling in the United States, particularly focusing on those from Afghanistan, Congo, Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Kenya, and Ukraine. Mental health services utilization among this population remains low compared to the domestic population.
Drawing upon existing literature and utilizing the framework of mental health literacy, the project aims to explore the relationships among psychological distress, mental health stigma, and help-seeking behaviors among refugees.
The research will be conducted in collaboration with a non-profit refugee organization—Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment (RISE), located in Syracuse and Buffalo—with the goal of informing the development of culturally sensitive mental health interventions tailored to the needs of refugees.
The findings of this research will contribute to enhancing mental health support systems for refugees in the United States, ultimately promoting their well-being and successful resettlement.