Culturally-appropriate therapy for survivors of human trafficking in Los Angeles

Immigrant and Refugee Support

County of Los Angeles

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

Survivors of human trafficking struggle with a variety of mental health issues and trauma disorders including PTSD, social phobia and anxiety, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues. Trafficking is a shock to emotional health and compounds pre-existing mental health issues, which is why mental health care is vital to survivors' overall recovery and ability to rebuild their lives. In 2022, over half (67%) of Cast clients had PTSD symptoms when they started services. An analysis of studies of women and girls who had been trafficked found "high levels of anxiety (48.0%-97.7%), depression (54.9%-100%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (19.5%-77.0%)."

Cast will improve access to mental health services for survivors of human trafficking in Los Angeles from specific communities, specifically those identifying as Latine/a/o/x or having affinity with this group. For the first time, we will offer survivors access to a dedicated therapist who is a Spanish-speaking Latina. Since many of Cast's clients share the therapist's gender, ethnicity, country of origin and language, and may be more likely to accept mental health and emotional wellness services while at Cast as a result. Therefore this program will deepen our current mental health and wellness offerings by expanding referral options, as many clients face long wait lists (sometimes as long as 6 months) and have long requested therapy services with mental health professionals who are familiar with trafficking and their cultural background. As part of our case management model, Cast staff will identify and refer clients in need of mental health services who will most benefit from this therapist. Over one year, we anticipate this therapist will provide timely individual, therapy to 37 survivors of human trafficking. Sessions will be offered virtually.

Survivors of human trafficking struggle with severe trauma which affects their ability to recover in other areas of their lives. Wellbeing is a key factor in survivors' long term recovery and ability to avoid being trafficked again. LA County will benefit through healthier residents who will be less reliant on its resources. Across the anti-trafficking movement, therapy has been under-resourced for survivors. This project will demonstrate the efficiency of providing this resource to survivors of trafficking and other forms of violence (e.g. domestic violence) in a timely, culturally-appropriate way. With funds, Cast wants to expand this program to provide greater amounts of mental health care in-house, which survivors have requested based on their trust in us and their wish to not have to repeat their traumatic story to multiple service providers.

Cast will measure the project's success using our Survivor Outcomes Assessment, through which case managers regularly assess clients as being "in crisis," "vulnerable," "stable," "safe or sustainable," or "thriving" in 13 categories including Emotional & Behavioral. Cast will track the survivors' score progress under this category to measure the impact of therapy services (for example, in comparison to those not receiving therapy services).