Dr. Kalina Brabeck

I worked at Rhode Island College as a counselor educator since 2008. My research, which has been funded by the Foundation for Child Development and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has focused on the intersections of socio-structural challenges (e.g., poverty, unauthorized immigration status), family processes and relationships, and individual mental health. My early research focused on the experiences of Latinx immigrant women seeking to leave abuse relationships and how oppressive environments shape those experiences. For the past 12 years my research has focused on immigrant families, seeking to understand how immigration policies and enforcements affect Latinx immigrant children, families, and communities. That research has been cited in the Supreme Court in the case SCOTUS Texas vs. U.S. and I have over 25 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters and conference presentations. I use mixed-methodological designs and have extensive experience in participatory action research both in the US and in Guatemala. Clinically, my areas of expertise involve working with immigrants and refugees, survivors of trauma (e.g., childhood abuse, interpersonal violence, family separation, historical trauma), and individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. My clinical work is overall informed by principles of social justice, feminist, and trauma-informed approaches, and I primarily utilize evidence-based and culturally adapted interventions within the frameworks of DBT and ACT. I am also EMDR-trained. I teach first-year courses, including Practicum I and 2 and Theories and Methods of Counseling, as well as electives, including Working with Survivors of Trauma and Evidence-based Counseling: CBT, ACT, and DBT. I also have taught the third-year Internship courses. Finally, I am passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and have conducted numerous mental health evaluations for immigrants seeking asylum, VAWA, and other forms of immigration relief. I train other mental health professionals to do this work and provide education and training to lawyers and law students on trauma-informed practice. 

Peer-reviewed Publications

Barros-Lane, L., Berger Cardoso, J. & Brabeck, K.M. (2022). "“Es como que no los conocieras:” Reunification of unaccompanied migrant youth with their U.S. families. Social Work Research, 46(1), 5-16.

Brabeck, K. M., Cardoso, J. B., Chen, T., Bjugstad, A., Capps, R., Capoverde, E., & Trull, A. (2021). Discrimination and PTSD among Latinx immigrant youth: The moderating effects of gender. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001126

Barajas-Gonzalez, R.G., Ayon, C., Brabeck, K., Rojas-Flores, L. & Valdez, C. (2021). An ecological expansion of the adverse childhood experience s(ACEs) framework to include threat and deprivation associated with IU.S. immigration policies and enforcement practices: An examination of the Latinx immigrant experiences. Social Science & Medicine, 282, 114-126. 

Frankel, K., Brabeck, K.M. & Rendón García, S.A. (2021). Understanding unaccompanied immigrant youth’s experiences in US schools: An interdisciplinary perspective. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), DOI: 10.1080/10824669.2021.1949320

Berger Cardoso, J., Brabeck, K.M., Capps, R., Chen, T., Giraldo-Santiago, N., Huertas, A. & Mayorga, N. (2020). Immigration enforcement fear and anxiety in Latinx high school students: The indirect effect of perceived discrimination. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(5), 961-968.

Zayas, L., Brabeck, K.M., Cook-Heffron, L., Dreby, J., Parra-Cardona, R., Calzada, E., Dettlaff, A. et al. (2017). Charting directions for research on undocumented and unaccompanied immigrant children and citizen children. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 39(4), 412-435.

Sibley, E., Brabeck, K.M. & Sladkova, J. (2017). What predicts attitudes toward policies affecting undocumented immigrant children and youth? Patterns in demographic and news consumption, Psychology & Society, 9(1), 12-38.

Berger Cardoso, J., Brabeck, K.M., Stinchcolm, D., Heidbrink, L., Price-Acosta, O., Gil-Garcia, O., et al. (2017). Integration of unaccompanied migrant youth in the United States: A call for research. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 1-20. 

Sibley, E. & Brabeck, K.M. (2017). Latino immigrant students’ school experiences: The importance of family-community-school collaborations. The School Community Journal, 27 (1), 137-158.

Brabeck, K.M. & Sibley, E. (2016). Immigrant parent legal status, parent-child relationships, and child social emotional wellbeing: A middle childhood perspective. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25, (4), 1155-1167. 

Kene, P., Brabeck, K, Kelly, C, A., & DiCicco, B. (2016). Suicidality among immigrants: 
Application of the interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior. Death Studies, 40(6), 372-82..

Brabeck, K.M., Sibley, E. & Lykes, M.B. (2015). Situating immigrant parents’ legal vulnerability within family contexts: The importance of exosystem factors for understanding immigrant families. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 38(1), 3-30.

Brabeck, K.M., Sibley, E., Taubin, P & Murcia, A. (2015). The influence of immigrant parent legal status on U.S.-born children’s academic abilities: The moderating effects of social service use. Applied Developmental Science, 20(4), 237-249. DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2015.1114420

Brabeck, K., Lykes, M.B., Sibley, E. & Kene, P. (2015). Ethical ambiguities in participatory action research with unauthorized migrants. Ethics and Behavior, 25(1), 21-36. DOI: 10.1080/10508422.2014.920707.

Brabeck, K.M., Lykes, M.B., & Hunter, C. (2014). The psychosocial impact of detention and deportation on immigrant children and families. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 496-505.

Lykes, M.B., Brabeck, K.M. & Hunter, C. (2013). Exploring parent-child communication in the context of threat: Mixed-status families facing detention and deportation in post 9/11 USA. Community, Work & Family, 16(2), 275-296. 

Xu, Q. & Brabeck, K.M.  (2012). Service utilization among undocumented Latino immigrant families. Social Work Research, 36 (3), 209-221.

Lykes, M.B, Hershberg, R. & Brabeck, K.M. (2011). Methodological issues in participatory action research with undocumented Central American migrants. Journal of Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 3(2), 22-35.

Brabeck, K.M., Lykes, M.L.B. & Hershberg, R. (2011). Framing immigration to and deportation from the United States: Central American immigrants make meaning of their experiences. Community, Work, & Family, 14, 275-296.

Brabeck, K.M. & Xu, Q. (2010). The impact of detention and deportation on Latino immigrant children and families: A quantitative exploration. Hispanic Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 32, 341-361.

Brabeck, K.M. & Guzmán, M. (2009). Exploring Mexican-Origin intimate partner abuse survivors’ help-seeking within their socio-cultural contexts. Violence and Victims, 24, 817-832.

Brabeck, K.M. & Ainslie, R. (2008). The narration of collective trauma. Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, 13, 123-142.

Brabeck, K.M. & Guzmán, M.R. (2008). Frequency and perceived effectiveness of strategies to survive abuse used by battered Mexican-origin women. Violence Against Women, 14, 1274-1294.

Neff, K., Brabeck, K.M., & Kearney, L.K. (2006). Relationship styles of self-focused autonomy, other-focused connection, and mutuality among Mexican-American and European-American college students. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146, 568-590.

Vetter, A., Hancock, A., Brabeck, K.M., Turner, E., & Wisneski, D. (2004). Toying with power: Power relationships in academia. Topics in education: Review of research and practice, 1 (1).

Ainslie, R. & Brabeck, K.M. (2003) Race murder and community trauma: Psychoanalysis and ethnography in exploring the impact of the killing of James Byrd on Jasper, Texas. Journal for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society, 8, 42-50.

Brabeck, K.M. (2003). Testimonio: A strategy of collective resistance, cultural survival, and building solidarity. Feminism and Psychology, 31, 252-258.

Book Chapters

Valdez, C. R., Ayón, C., Barajas-Gonzalez, R.G., Brabeck, K., Rojas-Flores, L., & Walsdorf, A. A. (under review). Prevention and intervention implications of an expanded adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework to include threat and deprivation associated with U.S. immigration policies and enforcement practices. In S. G. Portwood, M. J. Lawler, & M. C. Roberts (Eds), Handbook of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): A framework for collaborative health promotion. New York: Springer.

Brabeck, K.M., Gonzalez, D., Rendón-García, S. & Pendergast, A. (in press). A developmental perspective on unaccompanied migrant youth in the U.S. immigration legal system. In J. Quas & A. Redliff (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Psychology and the Law.

Venta, A., Brabeck, K.M., Cardoso, J., Budgstad, A., Hernandez Ortiz, J., Prosperi, N. & Sharp, C. (2021). MISC applied to families reunited after migration-related separation. In C. Sharp & L. Marais (Eds). Growing up resilient: The Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers (MISC).

Berger Cardoso, J., Brabeck, K., Bjugstad, A., Hernandez, J., Prosperi, N., Venta, A., & Sharp, C. (2021). Migrant Mothers' and Youths' Experiences of Separation and Reunification.
In J. E. Glick, V. King, S. M. McHale. (Eds.), Causes and consequences of parent-child separations: Pathways to resilience.

Brabeck, K.M., Porterfield, K., & Loughry, M. (2015). Psychosocial and mental health issues, assessment, and interventions with immigrant individuals and families facing detention and deportation in the United States. In D. Kanstroom and M.B. Lykes (eds). The new deportations delirium: Interdisciplinary responses. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Lykes, M.B., Sibley, E. Brabeck, K.M., Hunter, C. & Johansen, Y. (2015). Participatory action research with transnational and mixed-status families: Understanding and responding to post-9/11 threats to migrants. In D. Kanstroom and M.B. Lykes (eds). The new deportations delirium: Interdisciplinary responses. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Brabeck, M.M. & Brabeck, K.M. (2013). Feminist and multicultural ethics in Counseling Psychology. In C. Enns & L.N. Williams (Eds.) Oxford handbook of feminist multicultural psychology (pp. 27-44). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brabeck, M.M. & Brabeck, K.M. (2008). Feminist ethics in research. In D. Mertens & P. Ginsberg (Eds.) Handbook of social science research (pp.39-53). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Brabeck, M.M. & Brabeck, K.M. (2006). Women and relationships. In J. Worrell & C.D. Goodheart (Eds.). Handbook of girls' and women's psychological Health: Gender and well-being across the life span (pp. 208-217). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Murphy, K., Lein, L., & Brabeck, K.M. (2006). Contextos culturales y estructurales de la violencia domestica de mujeres mexicoamericanas inmigrantes [Cultural and structural contexts of domestic violence for Mexican-American and Mexican migrant women]. In C. Campillo Toldano & J.G. Zuniga Zarate (Eds.) La violencia social en Mexico y sus manifestaciones [Social violence and its manifestations in Mexico]. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León: Nuevo León, México.

Brabeck, K.M. (2004). Testimonio:  Bridging feminist and participatory action principles to create new spaces of collectivity.  In M. Brydon-Miller, P. Maguire, and A. McIntyre (Eds.) Travelling companions:  Feminisms and participatory action research (pp.41-54).  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Non-peer Reviewed Publications to Disseminate Research to Communities

Capps, R., Berger Cardoso, R., Brabeck, K.M., Fix, M. & Ruiz, A. (2020). Immigration enforcement and the mental health of Latino high school students. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/immigration-enforcement-mental-health-latino-students

Brabeck, K.M. (Editor). (2017). The effects of US immigration policies on children, youth, and families. CYF News. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Available at: http://apa.org/pi/families/resources/newsletter/index.aspx

Malatino, K., Brabeck, K.M., & Martinez, P. (2013). The role of counselors and Counselor Education in supporting student achievement: Opportunities in the Central Falls/ RIC Innovation Lab. North Atlantic Region Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Newsletter. 

Brabeck, K.M. & Xu, Q. (2010). Survey of the impact of detention/deportation on Latino immigrant families. Center for Human Rights & International Justice Post-Deportation Human Rights Project Annual Report 2009-2010. 

Lykes, M.L.B. & Brabeck, K.M. (2009). Exploring the impact of deportation on Guatemalan and Salvadoran immigrant families: Participatory action research project in the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project. Center for Human Rights & International Justice Post-Deportation Human Rights Project Annual Report 2008-2009. 

Brabeck, K.M. (2004). The narration of collective histories: Memory and identity/Power and silences in the aftermath of the James Byrd, Jr. Murder in Jasper, TX. Psychoanalytic Analyst, 9, 3-6.

Media Publications

Brabeck, K.M. & Rodriguez, C. (July, 2018). Families belong together: Four reasons why family separations are so harmful. American Psychological Association. Available at: https://psychologybenefits.org/2018/07/03/families-belong-together-4-reasons-why-family-separations-are-so-harmful/

Lykes, M.B.L. & Brabeck, K.M. (October, 2013). Family values? US immigration policies tear apart migrant families. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kalina-brabeck/

Brabeck, K.M. (2016). U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants fall behind academically, but accessing social services can help. Child & Family Blog: What We Know from Cutting Edge Research. http://childandfamilyblog.com/children-of-unauthorized-immigrants-fall-behind/

Brabeck, K.M. & Roger Williams University RI Latino Policy Institute (June, 2015). Rhode Island’s mixed-status families: Strength in adversity. http://www.rwu.edu/about/partnerships-initiatives/lpi/reports

Selected Grant Activity

August, 2018-July, 2019
Co-Investigator: The Mental Health of Adolescents in Latino Immigrant Families during a Period of Heightened Immigration Enforcement
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Subaward: $100,000)

June 2013-June 2015
Principal Investigator: An exploratory study of the experiences of US-born children in Latino immigrant families. 
Foundation for Child Development. ($149,590)