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IRC in NJ Psychology Externs
Photo: IRC in NJ Monica Indart

At the International Rescue Committee in New York & New Jersey, we have been checking in on our clients’ well-being as part of our crisis case management. Health case management supports client access to health care and medical insurance application assistance and follow-up, finding primary and specialist care providers, navigating medical transportation and health portals, and medication and pharmacy education. Our Safety& Wellness mental health services complement these supports.  

The environment of today has brought the majority of our clients (regardless of immigration status) feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, fear, and distrust of systems and organizations. Many of our clients fear being deported and separated from their families and children, which may cause distress and an increase in mental health concerns.   

So far this year, we are seeing a subsequent rise in mental health crises among our clients, many of whom report feeling increasingly overwhelmed and hopeless in the face of various daily stressors. These stressors often include difficulty finding safe and stable housing, employment, and legal representation; an increase in family conflict and domestic violence incidences; self-isolating due to fear of detainment and deportation; and an increase in trauma reminders and PTSD symptoms due to both perceived and real discrimination and violence. 

Due to the current climate affecting capacity and leading to the closure of our Resettlement & Placement (R&P) program (among others), our team has been working diligently to fill a gap in services for clients of all immigration statuses. In response, our frontline and client-facing staff across all programs are doing their best to make clients feel comfortable amid the numerous transitions. In this 6-month review, we take a look at the mental health concerns of our clients and the work ahead.  

In New York 

In this fiscal year (October 2024-June 3, 2025), we have been providing mental health touchpoints to 276 clients. The majority of our Safety & Wellness clients have been Spanish-speaking Asylum Seekers and Refugees. We have found that those whose R&P case had closed, as well as other programs, have experienced increased stressors and need for support. Particularly, asylum seekers and parolees have expressed increasing fear and uncertainty around the current climate and its implications for their own safety and future, including fear of detainment and deportation back to their home countries where they were persecuted, as well as separation from their families. 

Some clients have shared feeling afraid to leave their homes and seek social support out of fear of being targeted. As a result, clients have been hesitant to engage in in-person groups and supportive counseling services, preferring online services instead.  

For example, despite a strong need and interest among the Haitian community to access additional support, we have had to find creative ways to recruit community members for a support group due to fear around providing their information and gathering in-person. This doesn’t mean that our clients are unresponsive, in fact, they have been more communicative around their mental health concerns. 

Clients have also communicated stress associated with competing priorities, as they may have reduced time and capacity to prioritize their mental health. 

For example, we facilitated an emotional support group at our New Roots Garden, for adult Spanish-speaking Asylum Seekers based on reported needs from the community. Despite strong interest and high enrollment in the group, clients faced significant barriers to attending the group on a regular basis due to the need to prioritize legal, immigration, and housing needs. In response, the Safety & Wellness team has been offering more online support groups, allowing clients to easily join from various locations and enter and leave the group as needed, all while on the go. We have also sought continuous feedback from clients to tailor group topics to best address their changing needs, concerns, and priorities on a weekly basis. Adapting our support groups in these ways has allowed us to be much more client-centered.  

In response to the growing stress, uncertainty, and isolation experienced by our clients, we are working to create spaces that foster community growth. Through online and in-person groups, clients can connect with one another, share and validate their experiences, and learn coping skills to navigate both daily and acute stressors. We have been deliberate about increasing our touchpoints with individual clients through virtual check-ins to offer support and services where we are able to. 

During group sessions, clients expressed feelings of gratitude towards the IRC and Safety and Wellness staff members for creating spaces where people could share their feelings and make friends, and for empowering them to pursue their own emotional wellness through resources such as coping and regulation techniques, information about relevant services, and referrals as needed. In our post-workshop evaluation, clients shared some of the following feedback: 

“I loved this group and learned a lot, thank you very much” 

“It’s great to be able to meet different people from all over, learn about their lives and cultures and to talk about our experiences”  

Many also expressed a strong interest in future group participation. One caseworker shared a piece of client feedback:

“[The client] wanted to express that your support group has really helped her a lot. She said she was going through a lot of anxiety and depression over the last year, and she feels much better seeing you and attending the support group.”  

Clients achieved the outcomes of the groups and were able to form connections with other members and provide peer support. Outcomes focused on: learning coping skills, forming social connections, learning more about NYC, feeling more comfortable discussing their emotions, feeling more confident in who to reach out to for support and services. We are proud to share that despite clients’ initial hesitance, that our support groups have been popular and successful in the past six months.  

In New Jersey 

Mental health support entails: mental health screenings, counseling sessions, crisis intervention support, and referrals to higher levels of psychiatric and psychological care as needed. Additionally, our community workshops help clients manage stress through movement and mindfulness, prevent stress from turning into distress, and encourage building supportive connections to endure challenging times. The demand for health and mental health services has increased significantly in recent years, rising from 581 served in FY23 (October 2022 – September 2023) to 769 in FY24. To date, 412 individuals have accessed health services at IRC in FY25 (October 2024 – July 3, 2025). 

Over the past five months, the IRC in New Jersey’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) team has seen an increase in individual counseling referrals, the need for crisis intervention, and increased cross-team collaboration. The demand for individual counseling services has increased, and our team receives a constant flow of referrals. Comparing the same five-month period (January through May) of 2025 to 2024, our team has seen a 36% increase in referrals for individual services across all populations served. Most notably, we have seen a 280% increase in referrals for Cuban and Haitian entrant clients. 

Our invaluable one-on-one counseling is not possible without the dedication of our advanced doctoral psychology externs. This year, we had four externs, each coming from different university programs with unique competencies, all of whom shared a passion for working with refugees and migrant communities. In a year that has been like no other, this group of four young professionals has forged a bond with one another as they struggled to make sense of a rapidly changing landscape that affected them personally, as well as deeply impacted the work they do here at the IRC in New Jersey. Nonetheless, the stories they hear each week from their clients have been met with incredible compassion and resolve. 

One of our IRC in NJ Psychology Extern shares: 

“My time here at the IRC in NJ has been rewarded with the clients that I have met. They are remarkable individuals who are kind, open-minded, and willing to share their stories with a trainee just starting out. One client, in particular, a school-age female, has undergone a long journey that ultimately led to her meeting me in a therapeutic setting. Although therapy can be a very cathartic process, at the same time, it can be very unusual for kids to be in a setting where they talk about their feelings and experiences with a complete stranger. After months of building rapport and finding a common ground as to how to converse with one another, I hit a breakthrough with my school-age client that allowed her to open up about things that she had been struggling with. A small, yet important step towards laying the foundation for memorable and impacting work in her life, and the life of any other clinician that meets her.”    

With increased fears and uncertainty around deportation and immigration policies, we’ve seen clients seeking more virtual activities and support. As of May 2025, about 80% of MHPSS services have switched to virtual. That doesn’t mean that the need for services has decreased, in fact, it is at its highest. We are projecting to see at least by 30 new clients each month for the rest of the year. 

Our Vision for the rest of 2025 

Overall, in both offices, we’ve been exploring new strategies in response to client feedback. Many of our clients have shared the following concerns with depression, anxiety, PTSD, relationship problems (family conflict and difficulties), and life transitions (grief, loss, isolation, etc.). Looking forward, we will focus on the following goals: 

New York Goals: 

New Jersey Goals: 

Over the past six months, we’ve been exploring the integration of mental health support to enhance our family emergency preparedness plan for clients who may experience distress during periods of uncertainty and new transitions. It has also been essential for us to work closely with our legal teams to provide brief presentations about our mental health offerings, ensuring that safety planning is a core facet of legal support. Now more than ever, we are focusing on reshaping our services and meeting clients where they are at, physically and emotionally.  

Our Safety & Wellness teams in New York and New Jersey continue to work with external partners to provide referrals and ensure that our clients receive the best possible mental health care. This aligns with our health and wellness walk-in hours and our cross-collaboration with our colleagues. We look forward to reaching as many clients as possible and continuing the meaningful work of promoting safety and wellness. 

If you are inspired to support our clients’ access to mental health services, we invite you todonate here. To learn more, please reach out to our IRC NYNJ Development Director, Claire King, at claire.king@rescue.org