How Can Counselors Minimize the Trauma to DACA Students Caused by the 2016 Election/Cycle Rhetoric?

• In Event: Supporting the Social Emotional Needs of Youth: Interventions and Program Ideas

Abstract

This case study focused on the impact to DACA participants in a mid-western city enrolled at an urban school setting in a region where 30% of all residing immigrants are unauthorized (Capps & Ruiz Soto, 2016). The investigation aimed to understand if the language used during the 2016 election cycle altered trauma-related behaviors in the DACA population. The data collected during the investigation suggested that students who identified with the DACA group exhibited trauma-related behaviors different from behaviors previously observed, and the new behaviors were a result of election cycle rhetoric. Implications for counselor training were significant.

Authors

• Tina Chaney, Southern New Hampshire University

• Barbara Nell Martin, University of Central Missouri