Professional/paraprofessional team approach in groupwork with Cambodian refugee women

This paper describes a support group for Cambodian refugee women. The members were all survivors of the Khmer Rouge from the 1970s and 80s and had current diagnoses of post traumatic stress disorder. The group consisted of 16 women aged 44–60. The members describe their trans-cultural experiences of ageing within the United States. The paper also describes a therapy team approach which uses an English speaking licensed professional and a Khmer speaking paraprofessional. The strengths and challenges of this approach are discussed. Agencies that serve refugees may not have professionally trained mental health providers who are from the country of origin of their clients. This model holds promise to provide culturally sensitive treatment. However, it is a model that is in its infancy in terms of knowing what works and how to duplicate that to other agencies and populations. This paper shares some of the benefits as well as some of the drawbacks.