91香蕉视频成人在线

In mid-October, when the annual conference of the commenced in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 91香蕉视频成人在线 was well represented. In total, eleven current students and one recent graduate made the 1,600-mile trip due south to present slivers of their scholarly work via five poster presentations accepted from a pool of juried submissions. Following the group鈥檚 return to New England, a pair of conference participants shone a spotlight on the unique mental health needs of the Latino community and how 91香蕉视频成人在线 is working to meet them.

One Student's Journey

&苍产蝉辫;鈥淭丑别 Lucero Latino Mental Health Program (LMHP) at 91香蕉视频成人在线, which no other graduate schools that I knew of were offering at the time, was my driving force in enrolling,鈥� says Luisana Henr铆quez Garc铆a, a third-year Clinical Psychology PsyD student who hails from Venezuela. The College checked additional boxes for Henr铆quez Garc铆a, who has long aspired to work with the Latino community, including a chance to learn more about treatment, intervention, and neuropsychological assessments among the Latino population with clinical practicum training starting the first year. 

 鈥淏eing part of the Latino community has always been super important to me,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a who dove in head first and got a leg up in her studies by joining the LMHP program. In her first year of clinical training, Henr铆quez Garc铆a provided individual and family therapy to adults and children in the Latino population; last year, she administered neuropsych testing in Spanish and Portuguese at Beth Israel; at present, she is knee-deep in defining big ideas as they pertain to her dissertation.

鈥淭hese experiences have not only demonstrated the barriers to accessing and gaps in receiving care among the Latino population, but they have also reinforced what I鈥檓 passionate about doing with my practice going forward,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a whose current research focuses on the implications of stigma鈥攂ased on pervasive negative assumptions about who someone is based on where they come from鈥攊n particular those affecting children. 

鈥淩acialized stigma is intended to alienate,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a, pointing to a common experience among Latino students in school: 鈥淚f someone speaks too loudly, all of a sudden the whole group is labeled as disruptive鈥攚ith zero understanding of the different cultures from which students are coming,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a. 

The Steep Price of Stereotypes

For context, Mari Carmen Bennasar, PsyD, Director, Lucero Latino Mental Health Program, is quick to clarify that the entire concept of race is a social construct. 

鈥淚n the United States, [individuals from Latin America] become Latino for practical purposes,鈥� she says of a system created to create difference and, by extension, oppress. In reality, individuals identify with their country of origin as opposed to the region at large: Bennasar, for instance, is Dominican-Spaniard. 

鈥淭he government created these categories for ease of grouping people,鈥� she adds, underscoring that the term Hispanic arose in the 1970s for census purposes. Given this knowledge, coupled with first-hand lived experience, Henr铆quez Garc铆a remains laser focused on the barriers that arise when folks are grouped into a race that does not exist. 

 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to feel like a fish out of water,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a, sharing a realization that arose on the heels of the NLPA conference: Amidst an already low number of mental health practitioners pursuing doctoral work, even fewer are of Latino descent. This fact alone presents a significant barrier for folks seeking a psychologist who understands their culture and won鈥檛 bring preconceived notions about it into the therapy room. 

Reflections in Retrospect

The National Latinx Psychological Association, whose roots began in the 1970s, was formally reorganized in 2002; two years later, the inaugural conference was held in Arizona.

 鈥淚t has long been a dream of mine to take 91香蕉视频成人在线 students to the conference,鈥� says Bennasar who regularly attends. Last year, she began brainstorming ways to make the trip financially feasible for students, offering funds from her budget as incentive to cover housing which can be very expensive. The group then moved onto phase two which included submitting presentations that, if accepted, came with a $250 travel reimbursement to further defray costs.

鈥淲e made a huge statement,鈥� says Bennasar in a nod to another trio of students who met the group in San Juan. From attending workshops and making connections to presenting their work on a national stage, this was a huge opportunity for students. Individual experiences ran the gamut from a first-time conference attendee to a doctoral student being approached about a potential research collaboration.

鈥淚 was so proud, it鈥檚 hard to describe,鈥� says Bennasar who鈥攄espite not taking any credit for their individual accomplishments鈥攕hared these sentiments with students during a post-conference debriefing session via Zoom during which there was much to celebrate.

鈥淕etting a green light from the College, to cover our housing, was a great example of striving toward equity by reducing barriers,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a, given a price tag that was out of most students鈥� reach鈥攅specially those who are paying to earn their degrees. She cites the chance to learn together, while relaxing and enjoying one another鈥檚 company, as a huge highlight of the experience.

鈥淏eing in community, with folks who want to focus on the Latino population, was not only powerful but also motivating,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a, echoing an earlier sentiment: Especially in primarily white institutions, it can often feel as if one is alone on an island鈥攁 symptom of being Venezuelan, while living in the United States, that the LMHP has helped to alleviate for her. 

Beyond the food, hugging and Noche de Gala (complete with Latin dancing), this conference in particular proved a place where, according to Bennasar, 鈥渨e can show up how we are and who we are.鈥�

A Way Forward

When it comes to barriers, which exist on different levels from individual and cultural to those that are systemic and institutional in nature, Bennasar sheds important light.

鈥淥ur purpose is to reduce the barriers, to reduce the disparities, and increase the quality of service available to anybody and everybody regardless of [any defining factors],鈥� she says, underscoring that the skills needed to work with diverse populations can be taught to anyone, regardless of their background. In fact, research shows that, all things being equal, if an individual is given the opportunity to work with a provider who they perceive as being culturally aware and culturally sensitive, they are more likely to pick that provider over one who shares their ethnicity but lacks these qualities. 

鈥淚 am not multiculturally sensitive because I鈥檓 Dominicana鈥�I [have these skills] because I made an effort to educate myself, to immerse myself in different cultures, and to learn about others without pathologizing their behavior,鈥� says Bennasar who began training in multicultural psychology beginning in her internship year; prior to arriving at 91香蕉视频成人在线, she spent 15 years as Associate Director of the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology at Boston University Medical School.

鈥淭he key to equity is determining what the individual needs in order to succeed, and that varies from person to person,鈥� says Henr铆quez Garc铆a who, when she is not studying, works in the nonprofit world on project management. More often than not, when addressing quality improvement within health systems, there is a resounding (albeit erroneous) response: We treat everyone the same. 

鈥淚t goes beyond the racial-ethnic-geographical factors, which is why this training is for everyone,鈥� says Bennasar who, in closing, offers a big-picture question that has guided efforts across the 91香蕉视频成人在线 campus鈥攊ncluding all the various concentrations鈥攐f which she is very proud: 

鈥淗ow do we infuse this kind of thinking, about diversity and equity, into every aspect of what we do? Regardless of where we're coming from,  how we define ourselves, or which concentration we are in, [the work lies in] understanding the uniqueness of people鈥攁nd the intersectionality of all our identities.鈥�

About National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA): For more than two decades, NLPA has been mission driven to create a supportive professional community that advances psychological education and training, science, practice, and organizational change to enhance the health, mental health, and well-being of Hispanic/Latinx populations. Interested in joining the conversation? An active Twitter/X account鈥斺�攚as made by students for students. 

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