Description:
This is a section of our The Asylum Process: Interdisciplinary Responses to Multifaceted Challenges full day training on August 16, 2023.
In this session we look at how forensic evaluation and supporting documentation can support asylum seekers through the very complex asylum processes.
Dr. Katherine McKenzie discusses the historical and legal background of asylum, the criteria for gaining asylum, performing medical evaluations of asylum seekers, forms of torture and persecution and common related scars, and teaching asylum medicine.
Dr. Hawthorne Smith discusses his role as a treating clinician supporting the needs of his asylum-seeking clients and how the goal of producing the most detailed, comprehensive, and insightful report possible is part of that. He looks at types of psychological documentation, clinical assessments, evaluation priorities and techniques, and notes on testifying on behalf of clients in asylum court.