Brenda Punsky, LCSW, LLM

Brenda Punsky is the Advocacy Director and a senior psychotherapist at Terra Firma. In addition to doing presentations and facilitating trainings nationwide, Brenda provides trauma-informed individual, family and group psychotherapy to immigrant youth, adults, and families. Brenda specializes in traumatic stress, complex trauma, attachment, family-systems therapy and acculturation, and her expertise includes conducting psychological evaluations and writing affidavits in support of patients' asylum and other forms of immigration relief. Brenda is the co-author of “Working with parents and children separated at the border: Examining the impact of the Zero Tolerance policy and beyond,” Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma (2019). In addition to her MSW degree from Silver School of Social Work, Brenda holds law degrees from both NYU School of Law, and Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico), and worked as a human rights attorney for several years before becoming a social worker. Brenda was honored with NYU’s Global Social Work Award for her outstanding international social justice work and studies. She is also a certified mediator by the New York Peace Institute.