Assessing Refugee Trauma: Transformative Clinical Training in a Community Service-Learning Model.
Marriage and family therapy emphasizes systemic responsiveness, yet integrating advocacy into clinical training remains limited. This pilot study examines a trauma-informed service-learning partnership with a community-based organization, where graduate students conducted supervised forensic evaluations for asylum seekers. Using a phenomenological case study design with mixed-methods follow-up, we explored how direct engagement with survivors of politically motivated persecution shaped students' professional development, cultural humility, and advocacy skills. Upon the 1-year follow-up participants reported lasting empathy, systemic awareness, trauma-informed competence, and confidence applying clinical skills beyond the therapy room. Students described the experience as transformative, expanding their professional roles to include advocacy and systemic responsibility. Challenges with interviewing, reporting, and contextualizing mental health in sociopolitical frameworks highlighted the need for stronger academic support and advocacy training. Embedding experiential, community-based learning into MFT curricula may bridge the gap between ethics and practice, equipping therapists to serve as both clinicians and systemic advocates.