A recent article written by Marina E. Franco at Axios detailed the spiking suicide rates in Uruguay and how the country is working to combat this problem by offering free antidepressants.
With suicide rates reaching record highs, Uruguay is starting a mental health plan in 2024
LAist published an article titled “Latino Youth Beat Mental Health Stigma”. The article discussed Brittany Flores and how her own struggle with generalized anxiety led her to want to help others with mental health struggles.
Flores is a participant in “a new film project that aims to empower Latinx youth to become mental health advocates for themselves and others. The goal: to break long-held mental health stigmas in their communities by sharing their own stories.”
As we approach the dawn of a new year, we're reaching out to you with an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful impact. At NLPA, we're gearing up for an incredible 2024, and we want you to be a crucial part of it!
To make this year unforgettable, we're launching a special fundraising campaign: "Ring in 2024 with $24." We believe in the power of collective giving, and your $24 donation can contribute to making a significant difference in our mission.
Welcome NLPA's 2024 President - Ana Bridges!
Read a welcome message from the president below.
Welcome NLPA’s new Membership Chair, Alexina Pilo!
Psychiatry Online published a study on the “Downward National Trends in Mental Health Treatment Offered in Spanish: State Differences by Proportion of Hispanic Residents”.
The objective of the study was to “determine how the prevalence of mental health treatment facilities that offer services in Spanish has changed over time in the United States.”
NLPA Member Highlight - Dr. Rachel Ocampo, Clinical Assistant Professor, CISA - School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology
NLPA welcomes Sandra Gomez as our new student member elect!
The Elect Student Representative will coordinate with the Membership Committee to recruit and retain new student members, assist Current Student Representative on conference preparation and maintain communication with other NLPA communities (e.g., SIGS, and subcommittees) especially when they have student involvement.
On September 26, 2023 – NLPA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a new partnership to focus on improving the health and wellbeing of the Latinx community in the United States.
This strategic partnership enables NLPA and HHS to work together more closely to facilitate information exchange and outreach, education, and research training opportunities. Together, we hope to more effectively take action to help enhance and increase care of Latinxs.
On January 9, 2021, NLPA contracted with Obsidian Consulting to conduct a self study
consultation with a three-fold purpose: I. Identifying strengths of the NLPA; II. Developing an
Implementation program that would outline steps and actions that NLPA can engage in moving
forward to explicitly address anti-Black racism in the organization; III. Providing an expanded
Organizational evaluation which involves examining past and current practices that have
attempted to combat anti-Black racism in the organization as well as those actions that may have
contributed to ongoing anti-Black racism.
Read the full report HERE.
NLPA recently endorsed a letter supporting legislation that would designate the Los Angeles U.S. Courthouse to be named after Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez – advocates that helped end segregation in California schools and paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education.
Read the letter HERE.
NLPA recently endorsed an advocacy letter crafted by the American Psychological Association focused on creating changes to existing non-lawful permanent resident (non-LPR) cancellation of removal rules.
Read the letter HERE.
The National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA) is pleased to invite you to a guest lecture by Dr. D-L Stewart about Resisting Institutional Overreach: Understanding the SCOTUS Decisions on Affirmative Action on November 7, 2023, from 9am-10am MST.
Dr. D-L Stewart joined the University of Denver in 2021 after 20 years of teaching, research, and service in colleges and universities focused on U.S. postsecondary education. His scholarship focuses on the philosophy and history of higher education, institutional transformation toward realizing equity and justice, and how higher education environments function within society and as a crucible for the learning and development of minoritized student, staff, and faculty populations. He received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College in Sociology & Anthropology and his M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Higher Education and Student Affairs and Educational Administration and Higher Education, respectively.
Hola NLPA familia,
I hope this message finds each of you doing well! I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our conferencia this October in Chicago!
NLPA member Dr. Cristalis Capielo Rosario recently gave testimony to the United Nations about the mental health impacts of colonization in Puerto Rico. Dr. Capielo Rosario’s argument for the psychological ramifications of Puerto Rican colonization included discussion of internalized narratives, perceived inferiority, and threats of depression and anxiety.
Dr. Capielo Rosario’s research indicated that self-determination could change the mental health aspect for Puerto Ricans by empowering the community and improving the population’s overall self-esteem. “I recently conducted a study in which I asked participants to imagine what would happy if the association between the U.S. and Puerto Rico ceased. The primary response was chaos. ‘We won’t be able to survive.’ ‘We’re going to die of hunger,’” Dr. Capielo Rosario explained in an Arizona State University interview, “But when asked in that same study how they would describe themselves and other Puerto Ricans, they said ‘we’re hardworking, we’re creative and we have a lot of assets.’ But it does not translate into the idea of self-determination. That’s a psychological phenomenon. We certainly have the economic and social resources to make it happen.”
NLPA warmly congratulates Dr. Lillian Comas-Díaz on her recent APA Presidential Citation from Dr. Thema S. Bryant. The citation was awarded to Dr. Comas-Díaz on the basis of her contributions and dedication to the field of psychology and society-at-large.
Dr. Comas-Díaz is a clinical psychologist in private practice, and a clinical professor at the George Washington University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences. The former director of the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs of the American Psychological Association, she was a faculty member of the Yale University Department of Psychiatry, where she also directed its Hispanic Clinic. As a clinician-scholar-activist, Dr. Comas-Días has participated in fact-finding delegations investigating human right abuses in Chile, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and South Africa. The author of over 170 professional publications, Dr. Comas-Días has written extensively on the interaction of culture, gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and spirituality in mental health. Some of her books include: Liberation Psychology: Theory, Method, Practice and Social Justice (co-edited with Edil Torres Rivera), Multicultural Care: A Clinician’s Guide to Cultural Competence; Womanist and Mujerista Psychologies: Voices of Fire, Acts of Courage (co-edited with T. Bryant Davis); and, Latina Psychologists: Thriving in the Cultural Borderlands (co-edited with C. I. Vazquez). Her recent co-edited book with Hector Adames and Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas on Decolonial Psychology will be published in late 2023. Dr. Comas-Díaz is a recipient of the American Foundation Association /American Psychological Association Gold Medal Lifetime Award in the Practice of Psychology.
NLPA welcomes Dra. Julia Roncoroni as our inaugural Chief Diversity Officer. Dr. Roncoroni will lead NLPA’s efforts to ensure the organization remains responsive to the diversity of our Latine identities and experiences.
We are pleased to congratulate NLPA President Dr. Manuel X. Zamarripa on his recent APA Presidential Citation from Dr. Thema Bryant. The citation was awarded to Dr. Zamarripa on the basis of his leadership in educating mental health professionals in Chicana psychology.
Dr. Zamarripa, whose presidential term runs 2023-2024, was cited as a noteworthy contributor to the field of psychology for his "scholarship on the integration of culture, spirituality, family, and identity into therapeutic practice" (2023). More details on this prestigious award can be found on the APA's recent article, "Manuel X. Zamarripa, PhD, awarded 2023 Presidential Citation." We also encourage you to learn more about NLPA's Leadership Council on our website.
The National Latinx Psychological Association strongly opposes the recent United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the rights of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to consider the race or ethnicity of student applicants as a factor in its admission decisions. We are disappointed the court did not consider the overwhelming scientific literature that indicates exposure to diversity can improve the wellbeing and educational outcomes for all students. As noted in the amicus briefs filed by the American Psychological Association, prevailing psychological science indicates that campus diversity helps all students, and in particular, students of color experience less prejudice and discrimination, which can negatively impact their educational trajectory. We are deeply concerned with the fact that this decision will possibly decrease diversity on college campuses. Coupled with recent state-level decisions in Texas and Florida to ban Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices, we are increasingly worried about the negative impacts such actions will have on students and faculty of color. While these decisions evoke the concepts of equality and fairness their language, we are concerned that impact of these decisions and the message they send may embolden those who do harbor racist and discriminatory dispositions. FBI hate crimes data for 2021 shows bias-motivated attacks rose to the highest level on record. These decisions will have the greatest impact on those who have the least resources and the most barriers to obtaining equitable high-quality higher education. NLPA is committed to diversity, collaborating with other organizations and groups and to be “in community” to provide support and help students and communities of color achieve equitable education. For assistance or support, please contact [email protected].
We are excited to announce that registration will be opening in approximately one week! Monitor your emails from NLPA and follow us on social media for conference updates, including registration launch announcements.
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