A Collection of Resources for Supporting the Mental Health of Newcomers and Direct Service Providers  

Resettlement service providers carry an extraordinary responsibility in supporting refugees and newcomers through trauma, uncertainty, and major life transitions. While the work is demanding in any context, today’s shifting environment adds another layer of complexity as policies and public conversations around immigration continue to evolve. Amid these challenges, providers remain steadfast in their commitment to supporting newcomers. This post offers a collection of resources to help address the mental health needs of refugee and newcomer clients, while also promoting resilience and well-being among staff.

Newcomer Mental Health and Well-being

Crisis Management and Prevention

• Website: 988 Lifeline: Crisis Centers This website provides a listing of crisis centers in each state and U.S. territory. For refugees and newcomers who speak another language, 988 Lifeline uses interpretation services from Language Line Solutions and is available 24/7 through voice calling only.
• Website: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gov This website provides a confidential and anonymous search tool for locating treatment facilities for mental and substance use disorders in the United States and its territories.
• Website: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Find a Health Center This website provides a search tool for locating HRSA-funded health centers in the United States and its territories.
• Archived Webinar: Suicide Prevention and Safety Planning (2025) This webinar addresses suicide screening and prevention among newcomers by giving an overview of common myths, risks, warning signs, and protective factors.
• eLearning Course: International Rescue Committee (IRC) Suicide Prevention in Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration Settings (2021) This self-paced eLearning course explains the foundational skills of suicide prevention.
• Guide: U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrants (USCRI) Self-Harm Among Migrants and Refugees (2024) This comprehensive guide provides valuable insights into understanding, preventing, and addressing self-harm in these vulnerable populations.
• Website: Suicide Prevention Resource Center Warning Signs of Suicide: A Fact Sheet for Clinicians (2023) This fact sheet is intended to act as a brief reference tool to help clinicians recognize signs that may indicate a client is at immediate or acute risk of suicide.
• Tip Sheet: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Words to Use When Talking About Suicide (2021) This tip sheet provides information to help youth know what words to use when talking about suicide with friends and peers, including when to ask about it, examples of what to say, when to get help, as well as next steps.
• Guide: Introduction to Safety Planning (2025) This guide provides an overview of safety plans and the safety planning process.
• Tool: Low-Risk Safety Plan Template (2025) This fillable template is designed to help service providers manage low-risk mental health situations that are unlikely to result in significant harm to clients or communities.
• Toolkit: U. S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants Safety Planning with Foreign National Children and Youth Survivors of Trafficking (2021) This toolkit uses notes, tips, activities, and checklists to provide practical strategies for Trafficking Victim Assistance Program (TVAP) providers engaged in safety planning with youth survivors of human trafficking.
• Blog Post: Opening Doors to Mental Health Support: A Screening Guide for Resettlement Providers (2025) This blog post by the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers gives an overview of mental health screening tools and offers important considerations for service providers prior to implementation.
• Evidence Summary: What works to improve maternal mental health outcomes for refugees? (2024) This evidence summary examines research on the impacts of interventions targeting the reduction of adverse mental health symptoms in expectant or new mothers.
• Evidence Summary: What is the impact of peer support groups on refugees’ mental health? (2024) This evidence summary examines research on the impact of peer support groups on newcomer mental health symptoms.
• Archived Webinar: De-escalation in Practice: Strategies for Supporting Newcomers Experiencing Crises (2025) This webinar provides crisis prevention strategies and gives an overview of the core actions of de-escalation to help service providers support clients through moments of high emotional distress.
• Guide: Preventing Crises and De-escalating Difficult Situations with Newcomer Clients (2023) This guide reviews skills and practices that can prevent crisis, reduce harm, and de-escalate situations.
• eLearning Course: International Rescue Committee (IRC) Psychological First Aid in Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration Settings (2021) This self-paced course explains the foundational skills of Psychological First Aid (PFA).
• Guide: Critical Incident Response: Toolkit for Developing Organizational; Policies and Procedures (2024) This toolkit provides an overview of critical incidents and a structured approach for agencies to develop their own policies and procedures, specifically outlining the key components of effective critical incident responses, including the identification of potential risks, communication protocols, documentation, and post-incident recovery processes.

Trauma-Informed Care in Action

• Blog Post: Supporting Newcomer Clients and Staff Through Service Disruptions (2025) This trauma-informed blog post provides practical strategies for supporting clients through program disruptions and transitions—while acknowledging the emotional toll on both clients and staff.
• Archived Webinar: Navigating Difficult Conversations with Clients (2025) This webinar offers practical guidance on using a trauma-informed approach when navigating sensitive or challenging conversations with clients.
• Guide: Trauma-Informed Care: A Primer for Refugee Service Providers (2023) This guide describes common principles and guiding practices of trauma-informed care that can inform your resettlement and integration practices.
• Archived Webinar Series: Traumatic Stress Among Refugee Children and Youth (2023)
  • Part I: Viewing Trauma Through a Developmental Lens: This webinar introduces the concept of traumatic stress and describes common expressions of emotional distress in refugee children and youth.
• Archived Webinar: Case Management Fundamentals Series: Trauma-Informed Care in Case Management (2022) This webinar defines trauma-informed care (TIC) and explains how to integrate TIC principles into case management.
• Fact Sheet: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Understanding Refugee Trauma: For Child Welfare (2019) This fact sheet provides information about refugee trauma for those working in or with the child welfare system.
• Fact Sheet: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Trauma-Informed Care: Understanding Refugee Trauma: For School Personnel (2018) This fact sheet outlines different considerations that school personnel need to take into account when working with refugee youth and their families.
• Archived Webinar: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Holidays, Celebrations and Traumatically Bereaved Children (2025) This webinar introduces learners to the symptoms of childhood traumatic grief and prolonged grief disorder, including how cultural and religious rituals, holidays, school events, and personal anniversaries can both support and challenge grieving children.
• Fact Sheet: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network The 12 Core Concepts for Understanding Traumatic Stress responses in Children and Families (2025) This one-page reference sheet highlights the 12 core concepts for understanding traumatic stress responses in children.

Mental Health Across Refugee Populations

• Blog Post: Working Across Cultures in Mental Health Services (2025) This post discusses how to approach mental health services with newcomer populations and offers strategies to reduce barriers and empower clients.
• Archived Webinar: Effective Practices for Mental Health Screening Across Cultures (2025) This webinar reviews mental health screening practices for newcomers and provides guidance on selecting suitable screening tools, asking sensitive questions, and effectively using interpreters during screening.
• Guide: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Newcomers: Guidance for Service Providers (2025) This guide provides tools and best practices for addressing newcomers’ mental health and psychosocial support needs.
• Evidence Summary: What can help refugees process traumatic grief? (2022) This evidence summary examines research on traumatic grief interventions with refugee populations.
• Guide: International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Opora: Mental Health Workbook in English and Ukrainian (2024) This guide is designed to support Ukrainians and their mental well-being and offers an overview of the fundamental aspects of mental health.
• Website: Migration Health Initiative: Mental Health Resource Library This website hosts a resource library that may can be filtered by topic, including mental health.
• Website: U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) Post-Resettlement Behavioral Health Support This website provides information on mental and behavioral health support for Afghans and other newcomer populations.
• Evidence Summary: What works to prevent or reduce substance use among newcomer populations? (2025) This evidence summary examines research on prevention and reduction interventions for substance use among newcomers.
• Archived Webinar: Substance Use among Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Youth (URM) This webinar covers key concepts related to substance dependency and cannabis use disorder among URM youth.
• Video Series: Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center Mental Wellness and Stress (2021) This multilingual video series share information about mental wellness and stress and is available in Burmese, English, French, Karen, Karenni, Kirundi, Lingala, Mizo Chin, and Spanish
• Evidence Summary: What works to improve mental health of refugee children and adults? (2022) This evidence summary examines research on effective mental health interventions for refugee children and adults.
• Evidence Summary: What strategies support the mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors? (2024) This evidence summary examines research on therapeutic strategies to mental health symptoms among unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs).
• Archived Webinar: Traumatic Stress Among Refugee Children and Youth (2023)
  • Part 3: Responding to Abuse, Exploitation and Trafficking This final installment of the three-part series focuses on defining abuse, exploitation, and trafficking, recognizing the risk factors for newcomer children and youth, and reviews screening strategies and practical skills to engage and empower children and caregivers.
  • Fact Sheet: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Talking to Children When Scary Things Happen (2022) This fact sheet offers guidance on talking with children and youth when scary things happen, including reflecting, asking helpful questions, and labeling emotions.
• Website: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network ALL NCTSN Resources This website provides a library for resources on child trauma that can be filtered by specific topic, resource, keywords, trauma type, language, or audience.

Staff Care and Well-being

Refugee and newcomer service providers often work under high emotional demand as they support individuals and families who have experienced trauma, displacement, and loss. Without strong mental health support and positive coping strategies, ongoing exposure to clients’ distress can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout. This impact can be especially challenging for staff from refugee backgrounds who may carry their own experience of displacement and loss while helping their clients navigate similar journeys.
Supporting staff well-being must happen at the individual level through self-care practices such as rest and boundary setting, as well as the organizational level through workplace policies and supervisory support. Together, these efforts can reduce burnout, strengthen resilience, and promote teams that can perform effectively and sustain quality care for clients over time. Here are some helpful resources on staff care:

• Archived Webinar: Creating Balance in Case Management (2025) This webinar discusses how to balance caseloads and paperwork requirements, set boundaries, and create and maintain self-care regimens.
• Archived Webinar: Enhancing Refugee Care: The Link Between Provider Well-Being and Service Quality (2025) This webinar explores organizational-level evidence-based strategies to address vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout, and how mitigating these factors can improve service delivery.
• Archived Webinar: Organizational Approaches to Staff Care and Retention in Resettlement (2024) This webinar examines the impact of burnout on staff and explores organizational-level ideas for improving staff retention.
• Evidence Summary: What works to reduce burnout and vicarious trauma among refugee service providers? (2020) This evidence summary examines research on reducing burnout, vicarious trauma, and secondary traumatic stress among refugee service providers.
• Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), Toolkit: Fundamental Skills for Self-Care (2021) The tip sheets in this toolkit cover a variety of topics on self-care and wellness for service providers.

The IRC received competitive funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant #90RB0053. The project is 100% financed by federal funds. The contents of this document are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.