Characteristics of Asylum Seekers in Collaborative Assessment Program

The Capital District Asylum Collaborative (CDAC) is an organization that provides psychiatric and medical evaluations to be used as forensic evidence to support asylum applications. Our study assesses the demographics and traumas experienced by CDAC clients. In this retrospective study, 23 completed affidavits for clients evaluated through CDAC between the years 2016 and 2020 were analyzed for demographics, trauma experience, and psychiatric diagnosis given. Most clients experienced at least 4 different forms of trauma. Nearly 78% of clients experienced beating to the body, 43% were raped, 56.5% experienced other forms of sexual abuse or humiliation, 47.8% experienced forced separation from family, and 39.1% experienced illness and poor access to care. Majority of clients were diagnosed with comorbidities most commonly major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. This analysis has provided us guidance on how to establish continuing care options for future clients evaluated at CDAC.