1.5 CE | SYMPOSIUM
Description
This symposium will feature a faculty member and four Latinx graduate students who developed and participate in the Ánimo: Latinx Counseling Emphasis at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). In our presentation, rather than using a deficit model, we will focus on a strength based perspective and the importance of finding and valuing our own voice. As such, we will utilize a Liberation Psychology theoretical perspective. We will discuss the development and implementation of the Ánimo emphasis; empowerment of Latinx graduate students by representation in the classroom of Latinx peoples, culture, and experiences; Latinx graduate students sense of belonging in Ánimo courses versus non-Ánimo courses; and the challenges of finding culturally responsive bilingual and bicultural supervision and training sites.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Present a program for culturally responsive and bicultural training and supervision.
2. Discuss the development and implementation of the Ánimo: Latinx Counseling Emphasis.
3. Amplify voices of Latinx graduate students’ experience in learning and clinical training.
4. Provide concrete ways to empower and heal Latinx graduate students in learning and clinical training.
5. Facilitate participant discussion on integrating the material into their own practice.
Program Type
Standard D.1.3
Program content focuses on topics related to psychological practice, education, or research other than application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that are supported by contemporary scholarship grounded in established research procedures.
Session organizer
Olga L. Mejía, California State University
Ánimo: Decolonizing and Healing Latinx Graduate Students in Training
Using a Liberation Psychology theoretical perspective, in this symposium we will feature an effective culturally responsive training program for Master’s level bilingual (Spanish/English) and bicultural therapists at an HSI. The program achieves these goals by integrating curriculum and cultural values designed to heal and empower Latinx graduate students through their education and clinical training. We will discuss various systems of oppression that graduate students have had to overcome. Then, we will focus on the strengths and resilience that Latinx graduate students bring to the classroom and training experiences, including cultural values such as familismo, colectivismo, and personalismo. Using an intersectional lens, the Ánimo: Latinx Counseling Emphasis is a new program designed to provide much needed bicultural and bilingual clinical training to meet the mental health needs of the Latinx community. Ánimo is unique as it is one of two public accredited training programs at the Master’s level; and predictably has had to overcome many institutional barriers. This presentation will amplify Latinx graduate students' training experiences by discussing the importance of representation of Latinx peoples, culture and experiences in the classroom, their sense of belonging and empowerment Ánimo versus non-Ánimo courses, and seeking—and subsequently practicing in—bicultural and bilingual training clinical sites and supervision. Ultimately, these learning and training experiences lead to healing, empowerment, and using our voice for positive action and perspectives toward mental health in the Latinx community.
Presenters
Paola Acosta, California State University Fullerton
Valeria V Ayala, California State University, Fullerton
Carla Vargas, California State University Fullerton
Mitzy D. Ruelas, California State University Fullerton
Practicum: Clinical Supervision and Support for Latinx Graduate Students
With the rapid growth of the Latinx population in the United States, the disparities Latinx individuals face when accessing mental health services and the overwhelming need for Spanish-Speaking bilingual and bicultural mental health practitioners are apparent (Valencia-Garcia & Montoya, 2018). Such demand has brought into question the quality of training of Spanish-Speaking bilingual and bicultural Latinx graduate student trainees at clinical practicum sites given the lack of bilingual and bicultural clinical supervisors nation-wide. Supervision is considered the cornerstone of clinical training and is critical to the development and support of Latinx graduate student trainees (Verdinelli & Biever, 2009). Thus, it is critical to consider the barriers Latinx graduate students may encounter in their training, their inherited strengths, and identify ways to enrich linguistically and culturally appropriate training to serve the Latinx population. Challenges trainees may encounter include added pressure to provide translation and services in Spanish, feelings of guilt, inauthenticity, and pressure to take on more bilingual clients (Delgado-Romero et al., 2018). Bilingual and bicultural supervisors may help bridge the disparity gap by providing Latinx trainees with the needed support to provide culturally responsive mental health services to the Latinx population such as cultural values, dichos, lotería, and spirituality. In addition, through this presentation, participants will have the opportunity to hear from two Masters-level Latinx graduate students and their experience at two different stages of practicum. Learning objectives: 1. Identify the overwhelming need of bilingual and bicultural trainees at training clinical sites. 2. Discuss the lack of bilingual and bicultural Latinx clinical supervisors and the resultant added challenges for Latinx pre-licensed trainees. 3. Explain the importance of incorporating culturally responsive interventions, such as cultural values, dichos, lotería, and spirituality, when working with trainees.
References:
Delgado-Romero, E. A., De Los Santos, J., Raman, V. S., Merrifield, J. N., Vazquez, M. S., Monroig, M. M., Bautista, E. C., & Duran, M. Y. (2018). Caught in the middle: Spanish-speaking bilingual mental health counselors as language brokers. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 40(4), 341–352. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.40.4.06.
Field, L. D., Chavez-Korell, S., & Rodríguez, M. M. D. (2010). No hay rosas sin espinas: Conceptualizing Latina-Latina supervision from a multicultural developmental supervisory model. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 4(1), 47–54. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1037/a0018521.
Valencia-Garcia, D., & Montoya, H. (2018). Lost in translation: Training issues for bilingual students in health service psychology. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 12(3), 142–148. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1037/tep0000199.
Verdinelli, S., & Biever, J. L. (2009). Experiences of Spanish/English bilingual supervisees. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 46(2), 158–170. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.103/a0016024.
Presenters
Carla Vargas, California State University Fullerton
Mitzy D. Ruelas, California State University Fullerton
Ánimo: Empowering Latinx Graduate Students through Representation in the Classroom
Latinx students’ sense of belonging in the classroom may be improved by increased representation of Latinx faculty at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and encouraging meaningful interaction between such faculty and students (Vargas et al., 2020). Furthermore, culturally validating environments empower students through the topics discussed in the classroom including those that center on cultural values, experiences, and beliefs (Vargas et al., 2020). Notably, students enrolled in culturally responsive programs demonstrate higher graduation and success rates (Muses et al., 2017). Moreover, cultural competency in the classroom encourages discussing and understanding diverse communities and cultures (Koch et al., 2018). Programs like Ánimo: Latinx Counseling Emphasis train students to become culturally sensitive therapists and, in the process, empower students through cultural representation—including faculty, students, and experiences—within the classroom. By having courses that center on the needs of the Latinx community, students themselves are validated and empowered and are more likely to give back to their community. This presentation will focus on students' experiences within the Ánimo emphasis at an HSI and the impact this program has on their own identity and their cultural sensitivity toward the Latinx community. Learning objectives: 1. Discuss the importance of culturally responsive counseling courses for Latinx graduate students. 2. Demonstrate the importance of Latinx representation in faculty and students in the classroom. 3. Explain how empowering Latinx students helps to also empower the Latinx community
References
Koch, J. M., Procopio, S. J., Knutson, D., Loche, R. W., Jayne, A., Jayne, C., & Loche, L. (2018). Counseling psychology students’ perceptions of faculty multicultural competence. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 4(3), 140-150. DOI: 10.1037/stl0000116.
Museus, S. D., & Varas Yi, N. S. (2017). The impact of culturally engaging campus environments on sense of belonging. The Review of Higher Education, 40(2), 187-215. DOI: 10.1353/rhe.2017.0001.
Vargas, N., Villa-Palomino, J., & Davis, E. (2020). Latinx faculty representation and resource allocation at Hispanic serving institutions. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(1), 39-54, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2019.1679749.
Presenter
Valeria V Ayala, California State University, Fullerton
Fostering Comunidad in the Classroom for Latinx Graduate Students
A greater sense of belonging is a significant predictor of academic success (Muses et al., 2017). Fostering comunidad in the classroom for Latinx graduate students is a stepping stone towards their educational attainment (Mejía & Ruelas., 2021 August. Latinx Graduate Students' Sense of Belonging. APA, virtual), however, this is difficult to achieve due to the lack of programs that offer bicultural/bilingual clinical training for future Latinx therapists. According to Perez-Rojas et al. (2019), bilingual Latinx clients would switch to Spanish when recalling emotional experiences thus emphasizing the importance of bicultural/bilingual training. Ánimo: Latinx Counseling Emphasis creates comunidad amongst students and professors traditionally not found within the scope of clinical/counseling graduate programs. Moreover, the sense of community and endless peer and faculty support provides a unique experience for Latinx students in the classroom where shared values of collectivism, familismo, and personalismo are apparent. On the contrary, non-Ánimo courses may contribute to Latinx graduate students' feelings of imposter syndrome, thus enabling self-doubt, isolation and a decrease in self-confidence (Wyatt et al., 2019). This presentation will help expand the discussion about the advantages of Ánimo for Latinx graduate students as well as the downfalls of non-culturally inclusive training programs. Furthermore, I will illuminate the dynamics between Ánimo courses and non- Ánimo courses by providing a narrative element on my experiences as a Latinx graduate student. Learning objectives: 1. Distinguish factors that contribute to students’ feelings of isolation and imposter syndrome. 2. Engage in discussions around the importance of building community for Latinx students in graduate programs. 3. Illustrate the benefits of culturally responsive bicultural/bilingual training for future Latinx therapists.
References
Museus, S. D., & Varas Yi, N. S. (2017). The impact of culturally engaging campus environments on sense of belonging. The Review of Higher Education, 40(2), 187-215. DOI: 10.1353/rhe.2017.0001.
Pérez-Rojas, A. E., Brown, R., Cervantes, A., Valente, T., & Pereira, S. R. (2019). “Alguien abrió la puerta:” The phenomenology of bilingual Latinx clients’ use of Spanish and English in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 56(2), 241–253. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1037/pst0000224.supp. (Supplemental)
Wyatt, G. E., Chin, D., Milburn, N., Hamilton, A., Lopez, S., Kim, A., Stone, J. D., & Belcher, H. M. E. (2019). Mentoring the mentors of students from diverse backgrounds for research. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 89(3), 321–328. https://doi-org.lib-proxy.fullerton.edu/10.1037/ort0000414.
Presenter
Paola Acosta, California State University Fullerton
Continuing Education
1.5 CE
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