Rachel talks with Val Strunk, a licensed social worker, child therapist, and co-owner of Wired to Bloom Therapy in the Cincinnati area. Val is an immigrant and an EMDR-trained therapist. She uses child-centered, trauma-informed play and creative approaches with children and families, including immigrant families. Rachel found her work in Cincinnati Magazine. They discuss how immigration enforcement and changes to health coverage are adding stress for immigrant and mixed-status families. Georgetown's Center for Children and Families has called this a "perfect storm" for children's mental health.

Val describes the fear, confusion, and grief she sees in children, and how kids absorb everything around them. She explains what shows up in play therapy, including children's confusion about whether to trust or fear uniformed officers. She also covers the industry side: a provider shortage, practices dropping Medicaid and insurance because of reimbursement cuts, and families too afraid to leave home or share information, even for telehealth. For clinicians and practice owners, she suggests offering accessibility and low-cost spaces when there is capacity, advocating, and building trusted referral relationships through community outreach. She also encourages listeners to get to know their immigrant neighbors.

Resources Mentioned

Articles Referenced:

• The Cost of Living Afraid. Cincinnati Magazine (July 2026): https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/article/cost-of-living-afraid/
• Fear as Policy: The Growing Mental Health Toll of Mass Deportation Policies. American Immigration Council (August 2026): https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/mental-health-mass-deportation-immigration-policies/
• The Perfect Storm: How Immigration and Medicaid Policy Changes Are Exacerbating a Student Mental Health Crisis. Georgetown Center for Children and Families (January 2026): https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/01/06/the-perfect-storm-how-immigration-and-medicaid-policy-changes-are-exacerbating-a-student-mental-health-crisis/
• Navigating Uncertainty: Facilitating Parent-Child Conversations About Immigration Enforcement-Related Family Separation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (July 2026): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42398894/

Connect with Val Strunk:
Wired to Bloom Therapy: https://wiredtobloomtherapy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/val-s-719992a8/

Connect with The Mental Health Evolution:
Website: https://www.traumaspecialiststraining.com/mental-health-evolution-podcast
Instagram: /thementalhealthevolution/
LinkedIn: /the-mental-health-evolution
Facebook: /TheMentalHealthEvolution

Music by Zach Harrison