Session: Democratizing Social Work Research and Practice through Culturally Responsive Research Methods That Elevate the Experiences of Wellness and Voices of Marginalized Immigrants and Global Communities (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

In the aim of democratizing social work research and practice, it is imperative for scholars to develop and implement research methodologies that place the voices and experiences of emotional well-being of historically marginalized and racially and ethnically minoritized immigrants and global communities at the center of our inquiries. Yet, there continues to be a predominance of research methods and clinical practices that are centered on Western theories and methodological approaches that fail to include indigenous and culturally driven experiences, perspectives, and actions of racially and ethnically diverse populations. Such calls for culturally responsive and attuned approaches that elevate the relevance of the culturally specific and contextualized experiences of immigrants and global populations. This symposium showcases four methodological approaches that purposefully prioritize and integrate the unique cultural and structural contexts that shape the lived experiences of immigrants of color and historically marginalized global peoples – Latine undocumented, immigrant families in the U.S., Palestinian Bedouins in occupied Palestinian territory, and Asian American and Latine young adults from immigrant families. The first paper presents the significance of charlas as an anti-racist, culturally affirming, and community-centered Chicana feminist critical multimodal narrative method to examine Latine immigrants’ multidimensional well-being, healing, and resistance strategies against U.S. racist immigration policies. The second paper discusses the research process and methods employed (i.e., use of individual interviews, focus groups and photo voice) to examine and elevate the Palestinian Bedouins experiences of mental health and help-seeking that are inextricably shaped by forces of settler colonialism. The third paper presents the innovative use of experimental vignettes as a methodological approach to include the influence of cultural contexts and structural oppression in the decision making process of mental health help-seeking among Asian American young adults. The final paper presents the development and testing of the clinical utility of a complementary clinical assessment that anchors racially and ethnically diverse individuals’ experiences of mental health within their respective contexts (i.e., their identities, familial contexts, racial or ethnic cultures, social position in a racialized society) with Asian American and Latine young adults. Through these four papers, the symposium presents culturally responsive and affirming methodological approaches that can enhance the equity and inclusiveness of immigrants and global marginalized communities in social work research and practice.