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PASEO, LLC, is a bilingual mental health organization that offers specialized language and culture train-ing for students and professionals in psychology and related fields. The PASEO program is designed to help individuals in the mental health field strengthen their linguistic and clinical skills to better serve Latino populations.

PASEO works in collaboration with a non-governmental organization (NGO) called Supporting Kids in Peru (SKIP) to provide a language program that combines:

Specialized training in Spanish for mental health

Didactic seminars on working with Latino clients and on delivering mental health in low-resource settings

Service learning immersion

SKIP is a non-profit organization helping economically disadvantaged children in Trujillo, Peru realize their right to an education. Peru does not have a free public education system so many families cannot afford to send their children to school. SKIP seeks to target educational deficits through the provision of supple-mentary academic instruction in core curriculum areas. SKIP understands that families are the principal force in the lives of children and therefore works with the entire familial unit. This holistic approach fo-cuses on four pillars of family development: education, economic stability, emotional well-being, and healthy and safe home environments. The diverse team at SKIP is comprised of teachers, social workers, psychologists, economic development workers, and a wide range of other volunteers.

The Psychology and Spanish Elective Opportunity

Ideal candidates for the Language and Culture Training Program with PASEO fit the following criteria:

1. Current students or professionals in psychology and related fields, to include:

Advanced undergraduate students in psychology or related fields who plan to enter graduate study or work in the field of mental health

Current graduate students in psychology (e.g. clinical, school, or counseling psychology programs at the masters or doctoral level) or related fields (e.g. social work or psychiatry)

Working professionals (e.g. psychologists, LCSWs, or LPCs) already in the field who are looking to advance their linguistic and cultural competencies for clinical practice

2. Demonstrate interest in and/or experience working with Latino cultures and underserved populations

3. Language requirements: Participants should have low intermediate to advanced Spanish language skills. More information about language assessment and requirements can be found in the application. Note that students whose language level is found to be too low can still arrange for other opportuni-ties to volunteer with SKIP, and our team will work with these individuals on a case-by-case basis.

Who is eligible for PASEO?

What is SKIP?

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AIM 1: Build Spanish language skills for use in mental health settings.

This program is designed for participants to become competent in providing the following services in Spanish:

Conducting diagnostic interviews

Engaging in basic helping skills (e.g. reflective listening, open questions, summarizing, clarifying)

Providing psychoeducation to clients/parents about mental health/mental illness, and the process/purpose of therapy to help engage families/clients who have less familiarity with psychology

For individuals with more advanced Spanish language skills and psychology experience, additional goal areas can be selected. This may include building Spanish language competencies in:

Parent training (e.g. behavior management strategies, improving parent-adolescent relationships)

Psychoeducational assessment (cognitive and academic assessment)

CBT, Motivational Interviewing, suicide assessment/crisis intervention, and brief therapies (solution-focused, IPT)

Facilitating short-term psychoeducational and process groups in Spanish

AIM 2: Increase knowledge and competencies in working with Latino youth and families.

Specifically, this program will:

Increase participants’ ability to conduct ethnocultural mental health assessments in order to develop cultural case formu-lations, improve diagnostic accuracy, and develop collaborative treatment plans.

Increase understanding of the importance of language in the assessment and treatment process from a multifaceted per-spective, including such topics as language synchronicity, second language acquisition, and use of code switching as a ther-apeutic tool

Build participants’ knowledge of key treatment considerations for working with Latino families, with a focus on Peruvian culture as a framework.

AIM 3: Increase competencies in providing mental health care in low resource settings.

Treating high rates of depression and other common mental disorders is difficult in Peru given a lack of mental health resources in low and middle-income countries. Within the United States, many language minority communities find common shortages of men-tal health professionals who can meet their needs. Thus, this program will build skills in providing mental health care in low re-source settings. Topics for discussion will include:

Using principals of task sharing and task-shifting

Use of the public health model (universal/secondary/tertiary) to guide mental health intervention

Mobilization of social supports and other naturally existing support communities

Addressing stigma, marginalization, and discrimination against individuals with mental illness within their communities in order to increase the acceptability of mental health care

Considerations for designing and conducting research in low resource settings

A I M S O F T H E PA S EO P R O G R A M

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P R O G R A M D E S C R I P T I O N

This program is unique in combining didactic seminars on working with the Latino community, formal language instruction, skill practice, service learning, and immersion. Program length ranges from 3 weeks to 4 months based on the needs and time availability of participants. Formal training cycles occur at two time points through-out the year, and practicum opportunities are available from November 2015-August 2016. Program descrip-tions are outlined below:

T h r ee- or si x-w eek exp er ien ce:

1. Intensive Spanish language classes (intermediate to advanced) (2 hours daily, 5 days/week). Classes focus on the development of professional language and clinical skills for mental health.

2. Seminar on working with Latino youth and families (5 seminars per 3-week course/8 per 6-week course)

3. Seminar on global mental health and providing mental health care in low resource settings (5 seminars per 3-week course/8 per 6-week course).

4. Service learning (3 hours daily/4-5 days a week). Service learning opportunities at the SKIP center will pro-vide additional immersion and informal practice of language skills through the observation of and partici-pation in educational and recreational activities for the children and families at SKIP. These opportunities will vary based on language level, need, and participant interest. Opportunities include (but are not limited to):

Co-leading classroom-based socio-emotional classes and violence reduction classes

Co-leading parent workshops. Past workshops include basics of child development, develop-mentally appropriate behavior management strategies, theories of attachment, managing ma-ternal stress, and fostering early literacy and numeracy in young children

Assisting in Art, Sport, English, Primary or Secondary classes, or with homework.

Conducting diagnostic interviews or psychoeducational evaluations (achievement and cognitive assessments). This opportunity is restricted to advanced language students with appropriate professional expertise.

What is the difference between the three-week and the six-week program?

The six-week program is designed with more flexibility and individualization in mind; participants will have few-er seminars and will be able to use additional time for more intensive language study or to carry out relevant clinical activities (e.g. leading a brief support group or administering evaluations). Students will continue to have language instruction and skills practice five days a week.

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S C H E D U L E , T I M E L I N E A N D P R A C T I C U M O P T I O N S

Sample Weekly Schedule

Program Timetable for 2016

Lunes Martes Miercoles Jueves Viernes

10:00-11:30 Español para salud Español para salud mental

Seminar:

11:30-1:00 Seminar: Salud Mental Global

Español para salud mental Español para salud

mental

Español para salud mental 1:00-2:00

Almuerzo: Parejas de conversación

2:30-5:30

Service Learning:

Evaluaciones Cognitivas

Service Learning:

Clases de Inteligencia Emocional

Service Learning:

Taller de parentesco

Service Learning:

Deporte

6:00-7:30 Seminar: Compe-tencias Culturales

Class Size and Composition

Class size will vary between 3-8 people per class. There must be a minimum of three students per class in order for the class to be held. Students with flexibility will rank preferred options/cycles. If ability varies widely within a given class, classes will be divided for language instruction and combined for seminars. During seminars, instruction will be provided in a bilingual manner to encourage critical thinking in Spanish but also allow for students of different levels to communicate and understand material. Seminars led by Peruvian mental health workers will be in Spanish.

Practicum experience (6 weeks or longer)

Students may wish to complete a practicum placement with PASEO and the SKIP Psychology Department. This oppor-tunity requires a minimum commitment of six weeks. During the first six weeks, students will have language classes 4 times a week as well as weekly seminars. During additional weeks, students will continue to have weekly seminars and 2 hours a week of supervision. They will take on more of a clinical role, and will assist with groups, classes, ap-plied research activities, program evaluation, child assessment, and workshop development/presentation.

Individuals completing a practicum placement will be supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist from the United States (Brieanne Kohrt, PhD) and thus will be able to count clinical hours as supervised work experiences for intern-ship applications. Dr. Kohrt will work with practicum students and their universities to ensure that level of supervi-sion and clinical work are commensurate with university standards, and will conduct all appropriate evaluations to ensure student skill development.

In 2016, practicum dates are available between January-April and May-August A special “summer camp” practicum will be held January 10th- February 26th. Students should contact Dr. Kohrt for more details and check out our practicum opportunities page on our website at http://www.paseoprogram.com/practicum-placements/

Formal Language and Culture Program

Cycle 1 Cycle 2

3-week program May 15th- June 4th June 26th- July 16th

6-week program May 15th- June 25th * no 6-week option will be offered, but students can choose to stay for a 4th week

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P SYC H O L O G Y I N E L P O R V E N I R

The El Porvenir community

Trujillo is divided into 11 districts. The district of El Porvenir, where SKIP is based, is the second largest and most populated; with a 2011 estimated population of 164,931 within an area of just over 36 sq. km. The settlers that have ventured to El Porvenir and the out-lying area have primarily migrated from the mountains. Roughly 70% of the population states that they have migrated to El Porvenir from their place of birth (the majority are from the Andes region), and El Porvenir has twice the rate of population growth as that of Trujillo as a whole.

Many of the settlers in El Porvenir have been victims of political terrorism, such as that committed against peas-ants and indigenous communities by the Shining Path, or have suffered from various types of social, economic or political marginalization as well as direct physical and psychological abuse. Other risk factors facing this popula-tion include unsafe work conditions, inadequate housing, limited access to health care and social services, low rates of literacy, and limited educational attainment.

Psychology at SKIP

Due to trauma suffered prior to, during, and post migration, as well as the stress associated with rural to urban migration in low resource settings, there are a high number of mental health needs in this community. A study conducted with the families at SKIP (Kohrt, Barrueco, & Pérez, 2015) in conducted with the families at SKIP in 2011 found:

High rates of depression: roughly 2/3 (64%) of the moth-ers at SKIP met criteria for clinical depression.

High rates of domestic violence: 65% of the sample re-ported at least one type of current interpersonal vio-lence.

High rates of emotional problems in children: 50% of chil-dren were found to have significantly higher than ex-pected levels of externalizing problems and nearly two in three children (65%) had significantly elevated internaliz-ing problems.

The SKIP community has a high rate of mental health needs, but the El Porvenir region has an extremely low rate of mental health resources. Thus, the SKIP psychology program follows a public health model, which increases the number of individuals who are able to access mental health resources. Through this model, interventions are provided at three different levels, primary, secondary, and tertiary. More information about this model can be found at http://www.skipperu.org/programmes/psychology/

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W H E R E W E W O R K , T R U J I L LO A N D S U R R O U N D I N G A R E A S

Trujillo is the third most populous city in Peru, behind Li-

ma and Arequipa. It is located on the North-West coast,

about an eight hour drive from the capital. Due to low le-

vels of rainfall and constant temperaturas of around 70°

C , Trujillo has become known as the “City of Eternal

Spring”.

At the center of the city the Plaza de Armas creates a beautiful focal point of the city. With well-preserved co-lonial buildings, an impressive cathedral and unspoiled greenery (rare in the desert) it serves as a well-utilized social center. In addition to the “Huacas del Sol y de la Luna” (Temples of the Sun and the Moon) Trujillo also claims the noteworthy attraction of Chan Chan, the an-cient capital of the 15th century Chimu Empire. Chan Chan was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1986.

The nearby beach town of Huanchaco provides a relaxing getaway on weekends and has a more laid back atmosphere than the city. Surfing is very popular as the waves are consistently good, although not as impres-sive as those at Chicama. Located only an hour and a half away, Chicama hosts the longest left hand waves in the world, providing 2.6km of rideable wave. Also within a quick bus journey is the small mountain commu-nity of Otuzco, where you can escape the desert and find yourself surrounded by trees, clouds and rivers. Religious pilgrimages are held during the festival of La Virgen de la Puerta. Hiking and biking Is very popular.

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H O U S I N G & C O S T S

Housing

There are three housing options available as part of the training program:

The SKIP volunteer house: The main volunteer house is a large, comfortable, and secure house in Tru-jillo. The home has a kitchen, large dining area, hot showers, and high speed Internet. Benefits of stay-ing in the volunteer home include exposure to volunteers from all parts of the world as well as ease in being able to travel to and from the SKIP center and learning about many activities to do in and around Trujillo. Volunteers are constantly planning activities and excursions, and individuals staying for shorter stays who want to explore the area often prefer this option.

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Host family home: This is a great option for those wanting an immersion experience and a better sense of Peruvian culture on a day-to-day basis. Houses tend to be near the SKIP house for ease of transpor-tation to and from SKIP.

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Individual accommodations: Individual accommodations are available on a case-by-case basis, such as for participants who are traveling with their families. We will work to help you arrange housing in those circumstances. Prices may vary slightly from numbers provided below.

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Costs

Program fees are adjusted for volunteers with longer periods of commitment. Fees include the following:

Housing

Volunteer contribution to SKIP that is paid by all SKIP volunteers in all discipline areas.

Tuition for the PASEO program, including curriculum materials

Program fees do not include:

Airfare and other transportation costs (assistance will be provided in arranging travel)

Food (note that the cost of meals in Peru is very affordable; typically $2-5 /meal)

For information on scholarships, please visit the PASEO website: www.paseoprogram.com/costs-and-scholarships

Standard Language Program Practicum Placement Monthly Fee

3-week program 6-week program Month 1 Month 2-3

$2,000 $3,000 $350/week $250/week

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A P P L I C AT I O N A N D C O N TA C T D E TA I L S

How to Apply

Applications can be accessed on the PASEO website here or on the SKIP website here. Completed applica-

tions should be submitted to briekohrt@paseoprogram.com

Application deadlines for PASEO 2016 cycles are as follows:

Contact Information For questions about the PASEO program, please contact: Brieanne Kohrt, Ph.D. Director, PASEO LLC briekohrt@paseoprogram.com

“Si puede mirar, ve. Si puede ver, repara…” Jose Saramago

Cycle Dates of Program Application Deadline

1 Three-week: May 15th- June 4th

Six-week: May 15th– June 25th

1/15/2016

2 Three-week: June 26th- July 16th

Four-week: June 26th– July 22nd

2/15/2016

Practicum

Summer camp practicum: Jan 10th- February 26th (or longer)

Standard practicum: (March-August 2016)

12/1/2015

2 months prior to proposed practicum start date