Trauma-Informed Legal Advocacy: Medicolegal Approaches & Best Practices for Immigration Attorneys

Abstract

Trauma-informed legal advocacy is a compelling approach to utilize when attorneys represent traumatized individuals. Trauma-informed legacy advocacy in partnership with medicolegal approaches is a growing field within the medical and legal professions with theoretical underpinnings still developing. Excessive conflicts, trauma, persecution, human rights violations, and war across the globe are associated with an increased efflux of individuals and families from affected areas and an increased influx of people in host countries that are largely developed countries including North America, Australia, and Europe, making the role of immigration attorneys challenging. The traumatic experiences of these immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers with psychological or neuropsychiatric symptoms not only stem from past traumatic experiences but also are associated with potential fears of being deported, separated from family, legal ramifications, and residential uncertainties in host countries while harboring memories of suffering from fear of persecution due to nationality, race, religion, political opinion, affiliation in a social group, and sexual orientation in countries of origins. Though much of the literature on trauma-informed practice focuses on the secondary traumatic stress of medical professionals, little attention has been geared toward the secondary traumatic effects on attorneys. While the increasing demand for an immigration psychological evaluation may be beneficial for an immigration case and helps create an avenue for immigration attorneys to understand their clients’ traumatic experience, there is a gap in knowledge about how to limit attorneys’ exposure to secondary trauma when providing trauma-informed legal advocacy, how to identify malingering among clients, and how a client’s trauma and memory lapse interplay. This article discusses the importance of immigration attorneys understanding and utilizing trauma-informed legal advocacy, recognizing the re-traumatization of victims during legal appearances, the importance of an immigration psychological evaluation of a client, and developing routine self-care practices.