Guided by a commitment to social justice and advocacy, behavioral health professionals need to be both competent and responsive to the local, national, and global issues affecting clients and their communities. Current sociopolitical dynamics in the United States of America have placed various marginalized populations, particularly immigrant communities, at the center of divisive and harmful policy discussions and public discourse. This current wave of anti-immigrant sociopolitical policies, laws, and public sentiment have been found to exacerbate mental health concerns amongst immigrant communities including increased depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors (Allweiss & Hilado, 2018; Bruzelius & Baum, 2019; Capps et al., 2013; Chhabra et al., 2023; Garcini et al., 2016; Garcini et al., 2018; Garcini et al., 2021; Hacker et al., 2015; Logan et al., 2021; Vidal Valero, 2025; Yakushko, 2009). Given that immigration policies impact over a quarter of the U.S. population, specialized, culturally responsive training for behavioral health providers is essential to address the mental health needs of immigrant and undocumented individuals. Using a quasi-experimental approach, this study evaluated clinical counselors' multicultural, social justice, and ethnic tolerance levels before and after a 3-hour training on best practices for working with the undocumented immigrant community (Fullerton, 2024). Post-test findings demonstrated that this training improved both multicultural, social justice competency scores and ethnic tolerance among participants (Fullerton, 2024). These findings emphasize the urgent need for behavioral health professionals to advance their clinical competencies to ensure more effective support for immigrant and undocumented communities.

Dr. Pamela Fullerton is the founder and clinical director of Advocacy & Education Consulting, a counseling and consulting organization dedicated to ensuring social justice and advocacy through equitable access to mental health and well-being services. She is a clinically certified trauma, anxiety, DBT, and grief professional, specializing in working with traditionally marginalized communities, immigration and acculturation, and life transitions. Dr. Fullerton is an adjunct instructor in the Counselor Education department at Northeastern Illinois University. She also consults for behavioral health advisory boards providing advice and input to assist in promoting health equity and justice initiatives for underserved communities in Illinois.