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Poverty is associated with an increased risk for psychological problems. Even with this increased risk for mental health problems and need for care, many low-income adults and families do not receive treatment because of logistical, attitudinal, and systemic barriers. Despite significant barriers to obtaining care, research suggests that low-income individuals show significant benefit from evidence-based mental healthcare. In this article, we review the link between poverty and mental health, common barriers to obtaining mental health services, and treatment studies that have been conducted with low-income groups. Finally, we discuss the implications of the research reviewed and offer recommendations for clinicians working with low-income children or adults, highlighting the importance of evidence-based care, extensive outreach, and empathic respect.

Currently, 15 million Mexican and Central American individuals live in the United States, with this number projected to rise in the next few decades (Lesser & Batalova, 2017; Zong & Batalova, 2017). Research has begun to investigate the impact of the nation's immigration practices and policies on immigrant Latino/a families and youth. Current immigration policies can create vulnerabilities, including fear and mistrust, discrimination, limited access to services, parent-child separation, and poverty. These experiences increase risk for poor mental health outcomes and may exacerbate prior exposure to traumas in the home country (e.g., violence) and during migration (e.g., extortion). This paper reviews current immigration policies for arriving Mexican and Central American immigrants and links to mental health among documented and undocumented immigrant families and youth. A discussion of positive policies and resources that may mitigate the damaging impact of immigration-related stress is included. Finally, social justice implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed, with culturally sensitive interventions, advocacy, and dissemination of research and policy as primary recommendations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

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This study examined predictors of symptom trajectories of 93 adult survivors of Hurricane Katrina who were displaced and relocated to Colorado. Survivors were interviewed within six months of the hurricane and then again six months later. Four symptom trajectories were identified for clinical levels of depression and post-traumatic stress: resilient, recovered, delayed onset, and chronic. High levels of adaptive coping and coping efficacy characterized the resilient groups and low levels of both characterized the chronic groups. The recovered groups were characterized by low levels of adaptive coping coupled with high coping efficacy, and the delayed groups were characterized by high secondary control coping in the presence of low primary control coping, though some symptom-specific differences were found for these two groups. African American (67%) participants did not differ from European American (28%) participants in terms of membership in trajectory groups, though analyses revealed that displacement stress and positive religious coping were especially relevant predictors for African American participants. The results are interpreted in light of the Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll, 2001) and implications for treatment and preventive intervention are discussed.