Trauma-Informed Care for Immigrant Children and Families: Understanding the Immigrant Experience and Incorporating Emotional Regulation Strategies
Dianne Garcia is currently the Associate Pastor at the San Antonio Mennonite Church. Central to the church is a long-standing ministry working with asylum-seeking families, which includes running a hospitality house. In her role, Dianne has created a healing ministry geared towards the transitional families but that also serves the wider congregation. The goal of the healing ministry is to provide safety, a loving community, opportunities to talk and share, enrichment for children, and art therapy. All of these programs are run by asylum-seeking women who have decided to stay in our community. They are trained by Dianne in caring, trauma-informed response, recognizing and fostering resilience, and building emotional awareness and regulation. Dianne is currently working towards a counseling license. She also has a Masters of Education in Risk and Prevention from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Bachelors in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
