Clients Who Are Displaced

In Clients Who Are Displaced, Naji Abi-Hashem, PhD, works with a young woman from Myanmar whose family has migrated to the United States. He utilizes an interdisciplinary and trans-theoretical approach to reconcile the inner and outer tensions caused by the difficulty in relating to self and others in a new setting, navigate the nuances of a new cultural environment, and reclaim a new and expanded sense of identity while dealing with previous losses and grief. This demonstration showcases how Dr. Abi-Hashem supports the client – portrayed by an actor – by helping her to sort out her anxieties, fears, hopes, challenges, and aspirations, and to understand the complexities related to the migration and resettling processes. Hosted by Benjamin Keyes, PhD, this video illustrates how to relate to and work with displaced populations and help them establish a healthy level assimilation and integration wherever their journey of relocation may take them.

The goal of this approach to counseling and therapy is to work with people from various national backgrounds and cultural heritages who have crossed geographical boundaries and transitioned from their homeland to new society—migrants, travelers, newcomers, displaced, refugees, transplants, or expatriates. This is also to help those who experienced relocations—moving from one physical region or social setting to another, due to political turmoil, economic hardship, natural disaster, armed conflict, significant maltreatment, religious persecution, war trauma, or violent atrocity—so, they may begin a journey of emotional healing, mental recovery, identity reconciliation, socio-cultural integration, and existential-spiritual restoration. This approach aims to promote a broader socio-cultural scope for traditional counseling-therapy as an overarching umbrella, and to maintain a balanced and comprehensive worldview of human nature for the purpose of guiding the therapeutic process and clinical caregiving to help displaced clients.

Naji Abi-Hashem, PhD, is a Lebanese-American clinical and cultural psychologist, public speaker, author-editor, visiting professor, consultant, cross-cultural worker, and caregiver at large. He is involved in international service, training-coaching, writing-publishing, humanitarian aiding, global networking, mentoring-counseling, pastoral care, and caring for the caregivers. He has lectured at over 35 institutions around the world and has served for over 10 years on the board of many agencies and NGOs. He is a fellow in the American Psychological Association (APA), a diplomate in the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress (AAETS), and an active member in many professional organizations. He frequently presents workshops, seminars, and symposiums at regional conferences and international conventions.

Formerly, Dr. Abi-Hashem served as a staff psychologist with a major Clinic in Seattle, Washington, providing in-patient and out-patient services for over 15 years as well as served as an adjunct professor for several universities and seminaries in the United States and abroad. He also was a visiting scholar at both the Graduate School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller in Pasadena and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. So far, he has about 130 academic publications and about 130 professional presentations. Presently, he is a non-resident scholar at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, an Interdisciplinary Research Center, and a non-resident faculty scholar at Duke University School of Medicine’s Center for Spirituality and Health. Dr. Abi-Hashem is also an associate with Member Care International and currently divides his time between the United States and Beirut, Lebanon. 

APA Videos

Working With Arab Americans
Naji Abi-Hashem

Working With Refugees
Fred Bemak and Rita Chi-Ying Chung

Multicultural Feminist Therapy With Adolescent Girls of Color
Thema Bryant-Davis

Applying Cultural Humility Principles to Psychotherapy
Anu Asnaani

Multicultural Orientation in Psychotherapy
Cynthia de las Fuentes

Inclusive Cultural Empathy in Practice
Paul B. Pedersen and Jon Carlson

APA Books

Aten, J. D., & Hwang, J. (Eds.). (2021). Refugee mental health. American Psychological Association.

Moghaddam, F. M., & Hendricks, M. J. (Eds.). (2022). Contemporary immigration: Psychological perspectives to address challenges and inform solutions. American Psychological Association.

Tummala-Narra, P. (Ed.). (2021). Trauma and racial minority immigrants: Turmoil, uncertainty, and resistance. American Psychological Association.

Ellis, B. H., Abdi, S. M., & Winer, J. P. (2020). Mental health practice with immigrant and refugee youth: A socioecological framework. American Psychological Association.

Harris, J., Jin, J., Hoffman, S., Phan, S., Prout, T. A., Rousmaniere, T., & Vaz, A. (2024). Deliberate practice in multicultural therapy. American Psychological Association.

Shealy, C., Bullock, M., & Kapadia, S. (Eds.). (2023). Introduction to Going Global: Why psychologists should meet a world of need. American Psychological Association.

Other Suggested Resources

Abi-Hashem, N. (2023). Understanding and working with Middle Eastern and Syrian migrants and refugees. In G. Rich, J. Kuriansky, U. Gielen, & D. Kaplin (Eds.), Psychosocial experiences and adjustment of migrants: Coming to the USA (pp. 289-304). Amsterdam: Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-823794-6.00020-7opens in new window

Abi-Hashem, N. (2020). Resiliency and culture: An interdisciplinary approach. RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics, 17(4), 586-603. [International Positive Psychology]. Retrieved from https://journals.rudn.ru/psychology-pedagogics/article/view/25366/18960opens in new window

Abi-Hashem, N. (2018). Trauma, coping, and resiliency among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and beyond: A profile of the Syrian nation at war (pp. 105-130). In G. Rich and J. Sirikantraporn, (Eds.), Human strengths and resilience: Developmental, cross-cultural, and international perspectives. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. https://www.amazon.com/Human-Strengths-Resilience-Developmental-Cross-Cultural/dp/1498554830

Abi-Hashem, N. (2014). Cross-cultural psychology and counseling: A Middle Eastern perspective. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 33(2), 156-163. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-33844-007

Abi-Hashem, N. (2011). Working with Middle Eastern immigrant families. In A. Zagelbaum and J. Carlson (Eds.), Working with immigrant families: A practical guide for counselors (pp. 151-180). New York, NY: Routledge Press. https://www.routledge.com/products/9780415800617

Abi-Hashem, N. (2008). Arab Americans: Understanding their challenges, needs, and struggles. In A. Marsella, P. Watson, F. Norris, J. Johnson, and J. Gryczynski (Eds.), Ethnocultural perspectives on disasters and trauma: Foundations, issues, and applications (pp. 115-173). New York, NY: Springer. https://www.springer.com/us/book/9780387732848

Abi-Hashem, N. (2011). On cultural resiliency. The Australian Community Psychologist, 23(2), 23-31. Retrieved from https://groups.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/Abi-Hashem-ACP-2-11.pdf

Abi-Hashem, N. (2017). Worldview, the concept of (2nd edition). In D. A. Leeming (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology and religion (pp. 1-6). Springer Living Reference Online. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_9357-6

Abi-Hashem, N. & Brown, J. R. (2013). Intercultural adjustment. In K. D. Keith (Ed.), Encyclopedia of cross-cultural psychology (pp. 744-746). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118339893.wbeccp299/abstract