Deconstructing the Haitian Parenting Myth: Working Collaboratively to Transform the Educational Lives and Social-Emotional Health of Haitian Youth

In this workshop, Drs. Prosper and Jackman will use their collective experiences working in schools, courts, the Department of Children and Families and other community-based agencies to examine Haitian children/adolescents’ mental health needs.  They will explore how common barriers (e.g., acculturation, language, low cultural proficiency of providers, and stigma of mental illness) interfere with the ability of Haitian families and providers to work collaboratively toward supporting the educational, emotional, and social needs of Haitian children/adolescents.  Taking a developmental approach, the presenters will share best practices for informing Haitian families about their children’s psychosocial needs at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels; and for conducting culturally sensitive assessments and evaluations. They will also demonstrate how effective agency-family collaborations can support the healthy social-emotional functioning of Haitian children and adolescents.  Additionally, they will utilize case studies and other interactive activities to engage the audience and to illustrate best practices in enhancing communication, care coordination, advocacy, and access to culturally relevant community resources.

Learning objectives:

• Identify five (5) psychosocial barriers that create difficulties in the working relationship between Haitian families and U.S. systems and the resulting impact on Haitian children/adolescents psychosocial functioning

• Utilize case studies to learn two (2) culturally-sensitive/relevant interventions that can be implemented to foster effective agency-family collaborations, relationships, and communication with Haitian families

• Examine the capacity to work not only with Haitian families, but also how culturally competent practices can be applied to working with other cultural groups

HPM3 | 3 CE Credits | $65

Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with specialties in Clinical-Child/Adolescent Psychology and Forensic Psychology. She holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi-Hattiesburg; and completed a clinical internship at Children’s Hospital Boston and a post-doctoral fellowship in Forensic Psychology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Additionally, she served as an Instructor at Harvard Medical School for over 10 years. Dr. Jackman is currently the Director of Health & Wellness at Boston Arts Academy. Dr. Jackman’s expertise is in working with diverse children/adolescents and families in schools, courts, hospitals, and community settings. She has worked as a school-based clinician in the Boston Public Schools for the past 10 years providing clinical and consultations services to students, families, and school staff. She has presented on the topics of cross-cultural competence, parenting, and forensic psychology for teachers, mental health professionals, attorneys, and trainees. Currently, Dr. Jackman is focused on increasing her cultural proficiency with the Haitian community. She has a basic understanding of Haitian Kreyòl and recently traveled to Haiti for a service learning immersion experience.  She is also the proud mother of two Haitian-Barbadian children.

Vanessa Prosper, Ph.D., is a staff psychologist at the Boston Children’s Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships Program where she divides her time between doing school-based clinical work and adolescent depression and suicide awareness trainings and workshops within the Swensrud Depression Prevention Initiative. She also has a private practice in the Back Bay area of Boston and is an adjunct professor at Boston College and Lesley University. Dr. Prosper graduated from Boston College’s doctoral program in counseling psychology. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Boston University Medical Center/Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology.  Dr. Prosper is a licensed psychologist with over 10 years of experience working with racially and ethnically diverse children, adolescents, and young adults as well as Haitian immigrants, youth with pervasive developmental disorders, and youth who are HIV positive.