This episode highlights the intersection of school-based mental health, community well-being, immigration, and the integration of decolonized and culturally grounded approaches to social work practice and mental health service provision.

Podcast Guests:

Arlene Bjugstad (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Arlene has more than fifteen years of social work practice experience in non-profit organizations, county social service agencies, PK-12 schools, and communities. Arlene's practice and research interests are at the intersection of school-based mental health, community well-being, and immigration. She is particularly interested in decolonized and culturally grounded approaches to social work practice and mental health service provision.

Dr. Jodi Berger Cardoso has over 15 years of clinical experience working with immigrant populations. Dr. Cardoso’s research examines how exposure to trauma and psychosocial stress before, during and post-migration affects the mental health of Latino immigrants and their children. Recently, she received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the effects of immigration enforcement on the mental health outcomes of Latino youth. Dr. Cardoso works with several humanitarian organizations that focus on providing legal and mental health services to immigrants, unaccompanied minor youth, and refugees who have experienced trauma. 

Learn more: www.uh.edu/socialwork