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Headshot of Hyojin Im

Hyojin Im

Associate professor

Email: him@vcu.edu
Phone: (804) 828-2607
Pronouns: She/her

Hyojin Im, Ph.D., is dedicated to enhancing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for refugee and (im)migrant communities, both local and international, by building community capacity and partnership for culturally responsive services and trauma-informed care. She is also passionate about bridging local and global practices and policies, ensuring cohesive refugee programs and sustainable interventions.

Im has extensive experiences working with culturally diverse, trauma-affected communities in various settings. Working with the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), she participated in a project to develop culturally relevant screening and referrals for trauma-related mental health symptoms among newly resettled refugees in Minnesota. She was also involved in international capacity-building projects, providing training on refugee mental health and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of psychosocial programs to local staff of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Malaysia, and humanitarian NGOs in Nairobi and Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya.

While at the Mack Center on Mental Health & Social Conflict, UC - Berkeley, she led a community participatory intervention project, Trauma-Informed Psycho-Education (TIPE), for at-risk Somali urban refugees in Kenya. This USAID-funded project evolved into a Cross-Cultural Trauma-Informed Care (CC-TIC) training aimed at service providers and Community Wellness Workshops (CWW) for refugee newcomers in the U.S. This community-centered MHPSS training and intervention model, along with its curricula, have since been widely adopted and rolled out in Virginia, Kentucky, Texas and other U.S. resettlement sites. Since joining VCU, Im has collaborated extensively with statewide refugee mental health initiatives, devising a layered approach to address the diverse mental health needs of refugees.

Areas of expertise

  • Community-Based Participatory Research
  • Health
  • Immigrants and Refugees
  • International Social Work and Global Issues
  • Mental Health
  • Race and Ethnicity

Education and credentials

Postdoctorate Fellow, University of California - Berkeley
Ph.D., University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
M.S.W., University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Author: Im, H.
Topic: Community-based Participatory Research, Health, Immigrants and Refugees, International Social Work and Global Issues, Mental Health, Race and Ethnicity

Work

Selected publications

Note: * indicates student co-author and † indicates community partner co-author at time of writing

Im, H., † Verbillis-Kolp, S., † Atiyehd, S., † Bonz, A.G., † Eadahd, S., * George, N., * Wadu., A.M. (2023). Implementation Evaluation of Community-Based Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Intervention for Refugee Newcomers in the United States. Health & Social Care in the Community.

Im, H., *George, N., *Swan, L.E.T. (2023). Gendered Health Outcome among Somali Refugee Youth in Displacement: A Role of Social Support and Religious Belief. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Im, H., *Swan, L.E.T., & *George, N. (2023). Unraveling Trouble Socializing: The Impact on the Intersection of Trauma, Substance Use, and Mental Disorders in Somali Refugee Youth. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

Im, H., *George, N., & *Swan, L.E.T. (2022). Born in displacement: Psychosocial and mental health impacts of country of birth among urban Somali refugee youth. Advance online publication. Global Public Health.

Im, H., *Swan, L.E.T., †Warsame, A.H., & †Isse, M.M. (2022). Risk and Protective Factors for Comorbidity of PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety among Somali Refugees in Kenya. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 68(1), 134-146.

Im, H. & *George, N. (2022). Impacts of COVID-19 on refugee service provision and community support: A rapid assessment during the pandemic. Social Work in Public Health, 37(1), 84-103.

Im, H. & *Swan, L.E.T. (2021). “We learn and teach each other”: Interactive training for cross-cultural trauma-informed care in the refugee community. Community Mental Health Journal. First Published October 7, 2021.

Im, H. & *Swan, L.E.T. (2021). Working towards culturally responsive trauma-informed care in the refugee resettlement process: Qualitative inquiry with refugee-serving professionals in the United States. Behavioral Sciences (Special Issue on Culturally Responsive Trauma-Informed Care), 11, 155.

Im, H., †Rodriguez, C., & †Grumbine, J. (2021). A multi-tier model of refugee mental health and psychosocial support in resettlement: Towards trauma-informed and culture-informed systems of care. Psychological Services, 18(3), 345–364.

Im, H. & *Swan, L.E.T. (2020). Capacity building for refugee mental health in resettlement: Implementation and evaluation of cross-cultural trauma-informed care training. Advance online publication. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 22, 923–934.

Im, H. & *George, N. (2021). “It hurts so much to live for nothing”: Lived experiences of substance use among refugee youth in displacement. First Published January 4, 2021, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

Im, H., *Swan, L.E.T., & *Lindsay, H. (2020). Polyvictimization and mental health consequences of female genital mutilation/circumcision (FGM/C) among Somali refugees in Kenya. Women & Health, 60(6). 636-651.

Im, H. & *Swan, L.E.T. (2019). A Qualitative Exploration of Critical Health Literacy among Afghan and Congolese Refugees Resettled in the USA. Health Education Journal – Special Issue: Health Education and Migration, 78(1), 38-50.

Im, H. (2018). Constructing health capital in ecological systems: A qualitative evaluation of community-based health workshops in the refugee community. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(4), e541-e551.

McDonald, S.E., Im, H., Green, K.E., *Luce, C.O., & Burnette, D. (2018). Comparing factor models of PTSD in a sample Somali refugee youth in Kenya: An item response theory analysis of the PCL-C. Traumatology. Advance online publication.

Im, H., *Jettner, J.F., †Warsame, A.H., †Isse, M.M., *Khoury, D., & *Ross, A. (2018). Trauma-Informed Psychoeducation for Somali Refugee Youth in Urban Kenya: Effects on PTSD and Psychosocial Outcomes. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 11(4), 431-441.

Im, H., *Ferguson, A.B., & *Hunter, M. (2017). Cultural Translation of Refugee Trauma: Cultural Idioms of Distress among Somali Refugees in Displacement. Transcultural Psychiatry, 54(5-6), 626-652.

Im, H., *Ferguson, A.B., †Warsame, A.H., & †Isse, M.M. (2017). Mental Health Risks and Stressors Faced by Urban Refugees: Perceived Impacts of War and Community Adversities among Somali Refugees in Nairobi. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 63(8), 686-693.

Im, H., & *Rosenberg, R. (2016). Building Social Capital Through a Peer-Led Community Health Workshop: A Pilot with the Bhutanese Refugee Community. Journal of Community Health, 41(3), 509-517.

Im, H., *Caudill, C., & *Ferguson, A.B. (2016). From Victim to Perpetrator of Trauma: Lived Experiences of Gang-Involved Urban Refugee Youth in Kenya. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 25(7), 753-771.

Shannon, P., Im, H., Becher, E., Simmelink J., Wieling, E., & O’Fallon, A. (2012). Screening for war trauma, torture and mental health symptoms among newly arriving refugees: A national survey of state refugee health coordinators. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 10(4), 380-394.

Role: Faculty

Professional highlights

Selected presentations

Note: * indicates student co-author and † indicates community partner co-author at time of writing

  • Sheth, N., Rodriguez, C., Im, H., & Anderson, K. (February, 2022). Understanding Behavioral Health Needs in Refugee, Immigrant, and Asylee Communities. Invited Panel at the Virtual Roundtable by The National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Virtual Platform.
  • Maleku, A., Sagalang, C., Yamada, G., Hahm, H.C., Im, H., Chan, K., & Szto, P. (2022 January). From Exclusion to Inclusion: Un-Erasing Asian Identities and Dismantling Systemic Racism Through Praxis. Invited Symposium Panel at the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). Washington DC, US.
  • Im, H. & *Swan, L.E.T. (2022 January) Building Multi-Tier Mental Health and Psychosocial Supports in the Community: Towards Trauma-Informed and Culture-Informed Care for Refugees in the U.S. Symposium paper to be presented at the annual conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), Virtual Conference.
  • Im, H., Mustafayeva, S., Ketcherside, C., Kilian, L., Darling, I., & Balmir-Derenoncourt, S. (August, 2021). Building Community Capacity and Partnership for Refugee Mental Health in Resettlement: In the context of MHPSS. Invited talk to the Preferred Community Learning Circle, organized by HIAS & Switchboard
  • †Mustafayeva, S., †Molina, H., †Ford, R., †Montour, J., †Shamsuddin, S., †Grumbine, J., *Swan, L.E.T., & Im, H. (2020 September). Building Community Capacity and Partnership for Refugee Mental Health in Resettlement: Towards Cross-Cultural Trauma-Informed Care. Workshop presented at the annual conference of the North Refugee Health Conference, Virtual platform.
  • Gonzalez-Benson, O., Harding, S., Libal, K., Darrow, J., & Im, H. (2019 January). Refugee Resettlement amidst Radical Federal Policy Changes: New Approaches and Local Actors Roles in Social Work Practice with Refugees and Immigrants. A roundtable presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). SF, CA.
  • Im, H., & †Ray, B. (2018 June). Building Healthy Community: Community Wellness Workshops with Bhutanese, Afghani and Congolese Refugees in the U.S. Paper presented at the North American Refugee Health Conference, Portland, OR, U.S.
  • Beattie, E., Bonz, A., Im, H., Northwood, A., & Boero, J. (December 2016). Addressing the emotional health needs and trauma experiences of immigrants and refugees. National Immigrant Integration Conference, Nashville, TN, U.S.
  • Im, H. (July 2014). Protection under Chaos: Seeking Solutions for the Protracted Somali Refugee Situation in Kenya. Paper presented at the International Association for Studies on Forced Migration (IASFM). Bogotá, Colombia.
  • Im, H. (April 2014). Trauma-Informed Psychoeducation for Refugee Mental Health. Poster presented at the Mental Health Services Research (MHSR) 2014 Conference by NHMH. Bethesda, MD, U.S.

Accomplishments

  • 2017: Mentor Award for Social Justice Fund with International Social Work Student Association, Division of Inclusive Excellence, VCU
  • 2017: Social Justice Award by VCU School of Social Work
  • 2014: Award for New Investigators Workshop for NIH’s Mental Health Service Research (MHSR)
  • 2011: Buckman Fellowship for Leadership in Philanthropy
  • 2010: Diversity in Action Award, Hennepin County, Minnesota
  • 2010: Best Student Abstract Award, University of Hong Kong & Joint International Conference of Social Work and Social Development
  • 2010: Women’s Philanthropic Leadership Circle Award

Affiliations and service

Faculty Affiliates

  • External Faculty Affiliate, Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute (IRRI), University at Buffalo – The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
  • Faculty Affiliate, VCU Center on Health Disparities, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Review Board Member

  • International Journal of Environmental Public Health
  • Health & Social Care in the Community

Ad-Hoc Reviewer (Selected)

  • Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services
  • BMC Psychiatry
  • Community Mental Health Journal
  • Ethnicity & Health
  • European Journal of Psychotraumatology
  • Frontiers in Psychology
  • Journal of Traumatic Stress
  • Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health
  • Journal of Refugee Studies
  • International Migration
  • PLOS - Medicine
  • Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action
  • Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
  • Social Work in Mental Health

Media mentions (selected)

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