Akinsulure-Smith keynotes Mental Health Services Conference

Associate Professor of Psychology Adeyinka M. Akinsulure-Smith of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership presents the keynote lecture, "Caring for Forced Migrants: Toward an Integrated Response," at IPS: The Mental Health Services Conference in New York on Oct. 8. 

"The overwhelming chaos generated by armed conflict and human rights abuses has led to the forced migration of individuals, families and communities,” Akinsulure-Smith writes in her abstract. “As the numbers of refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers around the world continues to escalate, mental health professionals must be able to address the clinical needs of this diverse population, who are often severely traumatized, yet profoundly resilient.”

 

While discussing key factors that can serve as barriers to treatment, Akinsulure-Smith highlights the ways in which an integrative approach to care is a critical factor in the healing process. She also addresses specific considerations for therapeutic interventions along with recommendations.

Akinsulure-Smith is a licensed psychologist from Sierra Leone who has participated in human rights investigations in Sierra Leone, worked with war victims from the African diaspora and survivors of torture, and served as an expert on gender crimes and posttraumatic stress disorder in a case before the International Criminal Court.

 

About The City College of New York

Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; the School of Education; the Grove School of Engineering; the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. U.S. News, Princeton Review and Forbes all rank City College among the best colleges and universities in the United States.