Patricia Shannon
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Associate Professor
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Office Hours
By appointment
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School of Social Work
Room 281 Peters Hall
1404 Gortner Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55108-6160 - 612-624-3490
- pshannon@umn.edu
Areas of interest
Mental health assessment for newly arrived refugees, Community-based interventions for refugee mental health, Community-based participatory research and evaluation, Teaching Trauma, Secondary Trauma, Therapy experiences of women survivors of childhood sexual abuse
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
MA, University of Michigan
MA, University of Chicago
I joined the University of Minnesota after more than 10 years at the Center for Victims of Torture in Minneapolis where I worked with refugee and asylum-seeking torture survivors from more than 60 countries. I taught community providers how to assess and treat war trauma and torture survivors and also worked to develop in-depth community capacity-building projects to promote the overall health of communities with newly arriving refugees. I worked to restore and strengthen leadership capabilities, create networks of support that are responsive to the unique needs of each community and disseminated successful models of community based care.
My current research grew out of previous capacity building efforts to outreach to refugee communities to identify and educate those who are suffering with mental health symptoms of war trauma and torture. The goals of this research are:
To improve the health of Minnesota’s refugee communities by identifying mental health needs of refugees when they first arrive and developing appropriate community-based and professional interventions to address refuge mental health problems. This partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, the Center for Victims of Torture, and local refugee leaders began with conducting focus groups with over 100 refugees including the Bhutanese, Somalis, Oromos, and Karen from Burma. We developed short, culturally adapted, mental health screening tools for use during the initial health screening with newly arriving refugees who have been exposed to war trauma and torture. Through this process we have documented torture and war trauma prevalence rates, discovered culturally grounded knowledge of mental health, explored physical correlates of mental health distress and developed and validated a Karen mental health screening tool.
Develop effective community based treatment resources starting with culturally adapted curriculum for psychoeducation of refugee survivors. I completed a wait-list control trial of psychoeducation groups in the Karen community. The goal of psychoeducation is to de-stigmatize the concept of mental health in refugee communities and to educate survivors about effective treatments for trauma.
Build the the capacity of provider networks to offer culturally appropriate, trauma-informed care to refugee survivors. I conducted an evaluation of Minnesota's mental health referral process for refugees to learn effective processes for making successful referrals once refugees are identified as needing them. A dissemination grant has enabled us to partner with the Minnesota Department of Health to provide training to pilot sites and inter-professional teams who will begin screening in 2016. We are currently working to evaluate these efforts.
At SSW, I teach mental health courses in the MDE program; engage in mental health research; and help to represent the school in the areas of mental health services and social work practice. I teach the advanced mental health course on the Assessment and Treatment of Trauma where students learn evidence based practice approaches to the treatment of trauma across diverse populations and communities. Through teaching I became interested in how students learn about trauma treatment in ways that promote the growth of knowledge and the development of self-care strategies for long-term health in practice. I completed a study of normative experiences of growth and stress in a course on the treatment of trauma and studied the development of self-care practices to better understand how to maximize effective teaching strategies.
Audio/Video/Press
The Mental Health Costs of Being a Refugee in America
For Refugees, American Dream Starts With Better Mental-Health Screenings, article in NationSwell
Articles on lack of refugee mental health screening Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Shannon, P. J., *Soltani, L., & Sugrue, E. (2023). Exploring the use of focused ethnography in social work research: A scoping review. Qualitative Social Work, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250231214199
Hoffman, S. J., Shannon, P. J., Horn, T. L., Letts, J., Kondes, Z., & Mathiason, M. A. (2023). Associations between gender, torture, and health: a 5-year retrospective cohort analysis. Journal of loss and trauma, 28(3), 191-205.
Hoffman, S. J., Shannon, P. J., Horn, T. L., Letts, J., & Mathiason, M. A. (2021). Health of war-affected Karen adults 5 years post-resettlement. Family Practice. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmaa147 https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmaa147
McCleary, J. S., Shannon, P. J., Wieling, E., & Becher, E. (2019). Exploring intergenerational communication and stress in refugee families. Child & Family Social Work, 25(2), 364-372.
Shannon, P. J., Vinson, G. A., *Horn, T. L., & Lennon, E. (2018). Defining effective care coordination for mental health referrals of refugee populations in the United States. Ethnicity & Health, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2018.1547369
*Horn, T., Piescher, K., Shannon, P. J., Hong, S., & Benton, A. (2017). Experiences of Somali and Oromo youth in the child protection system. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 10-19.
*Hoffman, S. J., Robertson, C. L., Shannon, P. J., *Cook, T. L., Letts, J., & Mathiason, M. A. (2017). Physical Correlates of Torture Exposure in Karen Refugees, Journal of Loss and Trauma 22(2), 135-149.
Hoffman, S. J., Robertson, C. L., Shannon, P. J., *Cook, T. L., Letts, J., & Mathiason, M. A. (2016). Physical Correlates of Torture Exposure in Karen Refugees. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 1-15.
Brink, D., Shannon, P.J., Vinson, G. (2016) Validation of a brief mental health screener for Karen refugees in primary care. Family Practice,33(1), 107-111. doi:10.1093/fampra/cmv093.
*Simmelink-McCleary, J., Shannon, P. J., *Cook, T. (2016) Connecting refugees to substance use treatment: A qualitative study. Social Work and Public Health, 31(1), 1-8. 10.1080/19371918.2015.1087906. Published on-line first.
Shannon, P. J., Vinson, G., *Cook, T., Lennon, E. (2016) Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful mental health referrals of refugees: Perspectives of providers and ethnic leaders. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 43(4), 555-568.
Cook, T., Shannon, P. J., Vinson, G., Letts, J., Dwe, E. (2015) War trauma and torture experiences reported during public health screening of newly resettled Karen refugees: A qualitative study. BMC International Health and Human Rights. Published on-line first.
Shannon, P., McCleary, J., Wieling, E., Im, H., Becher, E., & O’Fallon, A. (2015). Exploring Mental Health Screening Feasibility and Training of Refugee Health Coordinators. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 13(1), 80-102.
Shannon, P.J., Wieling, E., *Becher, E., *Simmelink-McCleary, J. (2015) Exploring the mental health effects of political trauma with newly arrived refugees. Qualitative Health Research. 25(4), 443-457. Published on-line first: Sept 2, 2014. doi:10.1177/1049732314549475.
Shannon, P. J., Vinson, G., Wieling, L., Cook, T., Letts, J. (2014) Torture, war trauma, and mental health symptoms of Karen refugees. Journal of Loss and Trauma: International Perspectives on Stress and Coping. Published online first: Sept 15. doi:10.1080/15325024.2014.965971
Shannon, P.J. ( 2014) Refugees’ advice to physicians: How to ask about mental health. Family Practice. Vol. 00, No. 00, 1–5.doi:10.1093/fampra/cmu017
Shannon, P., Simmelink, J. Becher, E., Im, H., Crook-Lyons, R. (2014) Developing self-care practices in a trauma treatment course. Journal of Social Work Education.
Shannon, P., Simmelink, J. Becher, E., Im, H., Crook-Lyons, R. (2014) Experiences of stress in a trauma treatment course. Journal of Social Work Education.
Shannon, P., Simmelink, J., Wieling, L., Im, H., Becher, E., O’Fallon, A. (In press, 2013) Exploring mental health screening feasibility and training of United States refugee health coordinators. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies.
Shannon, P. J., Simmelink, J., Im, H., Becher, E., & Crook-Lyon, R. E. (2013, June 3). Exploring the Experiences of Survivor Students in a Course on Trauma Treatment. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0032715
Shannon, P., Im, H., Becher, E., Simmelink, J., Wieling,E., O’Fallon, A. (2012) Screening for war trauma, torture and mental health symptoms among newly arrived refugees: A national survey of state refugee health coordinators. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 10 (4), 380-394.
Shannon, P., O’Dougherty, M., Mehta, E. (2012) Refugees’ perspectives on barriers to communication about trauma histories in primary care. Mental Health in Family Medicine, 9, (1), 47-55.
Simmelink, J. & Shannon, P. (2012) Evaluating the mental health training needs of community based organizations serving refugees. Advances in Social Work Special Issue: Global Problems and Local Solutions, 13,(2), 325-339.
Cook, T., Shannon, P., Vinson, G. (2015, October). Key aspects of care coordination for refugee mental health referrals. Council on Social Work Education 61st Annual Program Meeting. Denver, CO.
Shannon, P., Piescher, K., Hong, S., Cook, T. (2015, March). Involvement of refugee children in Minnesota's child protection system. Minnesota Social Service Association 122nd Annual Training Conference & Expo. Minneapolis, MN.
Shannon, P., *Simmelink-McCleary, J., *Becher, E. (2015, January) Refugee identified stressors and protective factors impacting resettlement success. Paper presented at symposium, Seeking longevity for refugees in resettlement: Challenges and protective factors. Annual conference of the Society for Social Work Research, New Orleans, LA
*Cook, T., Shannon, P., Vinson, G. (2015, January) Torture, war trauma and mental health outcomes of aging Karen refugees. Paper presented at symposium, Seeking longevity for refugees in resettlement: Challenges and protective factors. Annual conference of the Society for Social Work Research, New Orleans, LA.
Shannon, P. , Vinson, G., Cook, T. (2014, January) Innovation toward improving the refugee mental health service delivery system. Paper presented on Symposium, Innovative approaches to refugee health and mental health in resettlement. Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research
Shannon, P., Im, H., Simmelink, J., Becher, E., Wieling, L, O’Fallon, A. (2013, January) Exploring national practices and barriers related to mental health screening of refugees, Paper presented at Symposium: Changing public health policy to include mental health screening of refugees: Examining the stakes and stakeholders. at Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research.
Shannon, P., Wieling, L., Simmelink, J., Im, H., Vinson, G. (2013, January) Outcomes of a mental health screening initiative for newly arriving refugees in Minnesota. Paper presented at Symposium: Changing public health policy to include mental health screening of refugees: Examining the stakes and stakeholders. at Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research.
Shannon, P., Im, H., Lennon, E. (2013, January) Exploring the effectiveness of culturally adapted psychoeducation for improving access and addressing mental health stigma in newly arriving refugees. Paper presented at Symposium: Changing public health policy to include mental health screening of refugees: Examining the stakes and stakeholders. at Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research.
Shannon, P. Nguyen, H., Cook, T. (2013, January) Progress toward the evaluation of the mental health service delivery system for newly arriving refugees. Paper presented at Symposium: Changing public health policy to include mental health screening of refugees: Examining the stakes and stakeholders. at Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research.
Shannon, P., Vinson, G., Im, H. (2012, November) Tailoring trauma interventions with Karen refugees: Exploring outcomes from mental health screening to community-based interventions. Panel presented at Annual Conference of International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Los Angeles, CA.
Shannon, P. & Snyder, L. (2012, November) Issues in Teaching Trauma in the MSW Curriculum Roundtable at Annual Meeting of the Council of Social Work Education, Washington, D.C.
Shannon, P., Simmelink, J., Im, H.(2012, January) Building Community Capacity for Healing Refugee Trauma: Evaluation of the New Neighbors Providers Network. Paper presented on Symposium, Improving and Sustaining Community Health Through Coalition-Building: Lessons Learned from Three Community-Level Intervention Research Projects. at Annual Society for Social Work Research Conference, Washington, D.C.
Shannon, P., Simmelink, J., Im, H. , Becher, E. (2011, October) Exploring normative experiences of growth and stress among graduate students in a course on the treatment of trauma. Paper presented at annual meeting of Council of Social Work Education, Atlanta, GA.
Shannon, P., Wieling, E., Simmelink, J., Im, H. (2011, January) Developing a Culturally Grounded Mental Health Screening Tool for Refugees in Minnesota. Paper presented at Annual Society for Social Work Research Conference, Tampa, Fl.
Shannon, P., Wieling, E., Simmelink, J., Becher, E., Yeats, J, O'Fallon, A., Hubbard, J. (2010, November) Developing a Culturally Relevant Process for Mental Health Screening, Referring, and Treating Resettling Refugees with Multi-component Systemic Interventions. Symposium presented at Annual Conference of International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Montreal, Canada.
Shannon, P. (2010, October) Building Community Capacities for Healing Refugee Trauma. Invited Speaker, Annual Meeting of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships, St. Paul, MN
Shannon, P., Simmelink, J. (2010, August) Assessing the mental health needs of Minnesota’s newest refugees. Workshop presented at CEUs on a Stick, University of Minnesota School of Social Work.
Shannon, P. (2010, June) Developing culturally informed mental health screening for Minnesota’s refugees. Presented at Annual Conference of Minnesota Chapter of National Association of Social Workers.
Shannon, P.,Wieling, E., Ogassawara, T., Simmelink, J., Becher, E. (2010, April) Development of a Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Screening Tool for Minnesota Refugees. Poster presented at College of Education and Human Development research day.
Shannon, P.,Wieling, E., Ogassawara, T., Simmelink, J., Becher, E. (2010, March) Assessing the Mental Health of Karen and Bhutanese Refugee Families in the Child Welfare System. Poster presented at State Conference of Minnesota Association of Social Workers, Minneapolis, MN.