Introduces Enrique Sanchez, a young immigrant father who brought his seven-year-old son, Joaquin, to a new country without the rest of their family. The therapist, Dr. Chang, explains to Enrique that she has to report to the Department of Children and Families her concerns for Joaquin’s saftey because Enrique has been leaving Joaquin unsupervised at night. Recognizing how this is shocking and may seem like a betrayal to Enrique, Dr. Chang empathically helps him to approach this challenge as an opportunity to protect Joaquin and with confidence that they will work together to make this a beneficial experience for Enrique and his son.

Shows Soledad, a 14-year-old girl who has recently been released from her first psychiatric hospitalization after an attempted suicide. Soledad is the oldest of five children. She lives with two of her siblings in a foster home while her other siblings were sent to a different house. Soledad’s mother was detained after physically attacking Soledad during what seemed to be a psychotic episode. Soledad worries about her mother and two younger siblings, whom she has not seen since they separated. This is Soledad’s first session scheduled by her welfare worker.

Understanding the intersection of complex trauma, development, and culture creates a foundation for effective case planning, treatment, and intervention. This therapeutic session shares strategies for identifying the developmental and cultural needs of an immigrant client, and recognizing facilitators and barriers for healing from complex trauma. Lessons from this session support culturally-responsive approaches for developing therapeutic bonds and promoting effective practices to engage family members.

Shows the modern-day manifestations of the intersection of historical, intergenerational, and migration trauma and its compounding impact with present-day traumatic stressors on the parent-child relationship of an indigenous Guatemalan parent whose young child came to the US as an unaccompanied minor when they are reunified. Viewers will also see a framework for engagement where the therapeutic relationship is used to restore safety, co-regulation, protection, and hope in the parent-child relationship. This framework is aimed not only at repairing the child-parent relationship but also at exploring, acknowledging, and including the family’s historical and socio-cultural context in developmental trauma treatment.