Refugee Mental Health

Jamie D. Aten, PhD, is the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and associate professor and Blanchard Chair of the Humanitarian Disaster Leadership program at Wheaton College. He is a disaster psychologist and disaster ministry expert. He has received more than $ million in grant funding to study disasters, trauma, and faith issues around the globe and has been recognized with APA’s Division 3 (Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality) Margaret Gorman Early Career Award and the Mutual of America Merit Finalist Award. Aten also received the FEMA Community Preparedness Champion Award at the White House. He is the coeditor or coauthor of seven books, including 3 other APA titles.

Jenny Hwang, MA, is the managing director for the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology from Boston College and a master’s in international disaster psychology from the University of Denver. As a mental health professional, Hwang has worked with refugees from Burma, Iraq, Syria, Nepal, North Korea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Burundi. Her research interests include global mental health in context to disaster settings, human trafficking, cross-cultural communication, and refugee and immigrant mental health.