Opening Doors to Mental Health Support: A Screening Guide for Resettlement Providers

April 16, 2025
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When screening newcomer clients for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), service providers need mental health screening tools that are simple and easy to use. Below we provide a brief introduction to these tools and links to resources with further information. With appropriate training, referral networks, and organizational support, these tools can be applicable for clinical and non-clinical service providers alike.

Service providers often express interest in screening tools, or “screeners,” to better understand, address, and track newcomer clients’ mental health needs. It is imperative that the correct trainings, safety measures, and protocols are in place before implementation. With appropriate and adequate training, even non-clinically trained service providers can conduct mental health screenings with newcomer clients to screen for depression, anxiety, or PTSD.

1. What are Mental Health Screeners?

Mental health screeners involve a list of standardized questions—created, tested, and approved by mental health experts—to help identify if someone needs further evaluation and treatment by a licensed mental health professional. It is important to note that the mental health screeners we discuss in this post are not meant to diagnose mental health conditions.

There are many available mental health screeners available. The tools featured in this post are not exhaustive, but instead represent some of the screening tools frequently used by those working with refugees and newcomers.

2. Important Considerations Before Using Screeners

The mental health screeners featured in this post are simple enough that a non-clinician can administer them to clients. But it’s important to establish appropriate trainings, protocols, and referral systems. Screening tools can elicit clients’ memories of difficult events and, without proper preparation and follow-up, can even do more harm than good. 

Ideally, the service provider administering the tool should have an advanced health, clinical/medical, counseling, or social work background. If this is not possible, the service provider’s supervisor should possess this expertise. This mitigates risk and, if a client is triggered, ensures a staff member is ready and able to properly handle the situation.

Below are some important considerations for service providers to address before implementing screeners.

Ensure Appropriate Training and Supervision: Ensure that all staff implementing screeners have received appropriate training on trauma-informed services and approaches; how to administer the tool; how to support patients/clients who are triggered (feel emotionally distraught or overwhelmed from being reminded about past trauma) or who indicate distress that requires an immediate response; how to score the responses (depending on the screening tool); how to share results with clients and/or licensed professionals; and how and where to refer for further services based on the screening results.

Reminder: Screeners are not meant to diagnose mental health conditions and are not a substitute for mental health care; instead, these tools help identify if someone needs further evaluation and treatment by a licensed professional. It’s important to work closely with licensed professionals when administering screeners so that appropriate referrals can be made if necessary.

2. Create Organizational Protocol /SOP: Create an organizational protocol, to be reviewed and agreed upon by your organization with supervisor support, for administering screeners. This protocol should specify:

- What trainings staff members must undergo to administer the tool;
- Which staff positions will be responsible for the screening;
- Which screening tool will be used;
- How staff will obtain informed consent from clients before screenings;
- Where, when, and how the tool will be implemented and scored;
- How to respond to and manage various screening scenarios (e.g., when scores indicate that follow-up is required, or when clients are in distress and require immediate support);
- How clients will be referred for further services if necessary;
- How the service provider will debrief with clients after screening;
- How and when to use interpreters; and
- How to protect confidentiality and privacy.

3. Update Available Referral Networks: It is imperative that referral networks to mental health services are in place before administering screening tools. Keep up-to-date information on which mental health providers are able and willing to see newcomer clients, keeping in mind clients’ insurance networks and statuses. You can view a refugee health provider directory here, and read this post for tips on creating or maintaining your own directory. Service providers must not screen clients if they cannot refer them for services or address issues that may arise. It is unethical to use screening to collect data for a needs assessment or research project without understanding the implications and having referrals in place.

4. Considerations for Interpretation Use: While many screeners are self-administered, and some are available in several languages, it is important to evaluate if clients are comfortable completing the form independently or if they would prefer to have questions read aloud and/or interpreted. Whether the client completes the tool independently or with interpretation, it is always important to introduce the tool’s purpose and receive informed consent to proceed with screening. Service providers should ensure, if possible, that any interpreters present are trained medical interpreters; trained community interpreters are an acceptable back-up option. Interpreters should also be available for questions during the screening, and for debriefs afterwards, to see how clients are feeling. 

In keeping with a trauma–informed approach, ideally, service providers should arrange for in-person interpretation during screenings. For more information about working with interpreters, see Switchboard’s eLearning course and scripts.

5. Validate Translations: Screening tools that have been translated into other languages should be validated to confirm that translations are appropriate to the client’s linguistic context and are eliciting the intended response. Service providers can check in the screening tool’s manual to see what kind of prior validation has taken place. Providers should verify with their supervisor/organization the validation of a specific tool before implementing.

6. Ensure Confidentiality and Privacy: Ensure that the screening is administered in a private place where others cannot overhear. Safely store records of the results in accordance with your organization’s policies about confidential health information.

7. Consider Children: Many screeners have not been designed or validated for use with young children. Service providers should not administer a screener to anyone below the minimum appropriate age identified by the given tool’s creators. If a child’s mental health is of concern, service providers should work with their parents to schedule an appointment with the child’s primary health care provider.

8. Set the Context: When introducing the screening, service providers should advise clients that the questions may be difficult and/or bring back distressing memories. Service providers should inform clients of their right to discontinue the screener at any time. 

9. Minimize Number of Questions and Tools: To reduce the emotional and mental burden on clients, service providers should minimize the number of different screening tools they use, and ideally use screening tools with one to two measures maximum to screen for anxiety, depression, and trauma.

3. Mental Health Screening Tools

Remember: these tools are not designed to diagnose PTSD or any other mental health conditions, but rather to provide insight for further services and referrals.