USE OF CLINICAL NOTES AGAINST MIGRANT CHILDREN

Dear Director Hayes and Acting Director Albence:

On behalf of the members and affiliates of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), I write to urgently request that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stop sharing confidential mental health information obtained from child immigrants in shelter care with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in making asylum determinations.  This practice should be prohibited since it constitutes a violation of broadly accepted mental health ethical privacy and disclosure standards and impedes the delivery of effective treatment of children who have experienced trauma.

ADTA is a professional organization representing dance/movement therapy (DMT) practitioners, educators and researchers. DMT is particularly effective in assisting asylum seekers, especially children, who have likely experienced trauma and may be unable to verbalize their experiences. We abide by the fundamental ethical value of all mental health professions to maintain the confidentiality of records. We are firm in the belief that confidentiality between patient and therapist should not be broken for the purposes of denying asylum applications, and in fact that this practice is not only unethical but also immoral.

Our members stand in unity with our mental health allies including the American Psychiatric Association (https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/apa-condemns-unethical-sharing-of-therapist-records-in-immigration-cases), the American Psychological Association (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/azar-wolf-letter.pdf), and the American Art Therapy Association (https://arttherapy.org/upload/AATA_Letter_to_ORR_and_ICE_02-24-20.pdf) and others in strongly condemning the sharing of therapy records.

We again ask that you stop sharing confidential mental health information obtained from child immigrants in shelter care with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in making asylum determinations.  We must ensure that children in U.S. custody are able to access the mental health services they need without fear of repercussions to their welfare and safety.

Sincerely,

Margaret Migliorati, MA, R-DMT, LPCC, NCC

President, American Dance Therapy Association

[email protected]