psychological services for spanish speaking populations
TRANSCRIPT
TherapidincreaseintheHispanicpopulationintheUnitedStateshasresultedinagreaterneedforappropriatementalhealthservices,especiallyforthosewhorequireservicesinSpanish.TheOLLUpsychologydepartmentbeganofferingSpanishlanguagesupervisionofSpanishlanguagepsychologicalservicesinthemid-1980s.WeobservedthatmanystudentswhowereheritagespeakersofSpanishdidnottakeadvantageoftheopportunityfortrainingtoprovideservicesinSpanishbecausetheirSpanish“wasn’tgoodenough.”WealsoconcludedthatsupervisionalonewasnotsufficienttoproducegraduateswhowerefullycompetenttoprovideprofessionalservicesinSpanish.
Initially,wehiredavisitingprofessorfromMexicotosupervisetheSpanishlanguageteamatCCSandtoconsultwithfacultyregardingthedevelopmentofatrainingprogram.WeconductedsurveysofourbilingualgraduatestudentsandpsychologistsintheSanAntonioregion.Ofthe300bilinguallicensedpsychologistsinSanAntonio,only11actuallyofferedservicesinSpanish.Ofthese,theninewhorespondedtothesurveyallsaidthattheyhadreceivedinadequategraduateschooltraininginprovidingservicesinSpanish.
Onthebasisoftheestablishedneedandsurveyresults,theOLLUPsychologyfacultydevelopedthePSSSPprogram,whichfromitsinceptionhashadthegoaloftrainingmentalhealthprofessionalswhoareequallycompetenttoprovideservicesinSpanishandEnglish.
AuniquefeatureofthePSSSPprogramisthatthecorecoursesaretaughtinSpanishorbilingually.ThesecoursesincludeatechnicalSpanishcoursetaughtbyafacultymemberfromtheSpanishDepartment,acoursefocusedonservicedeliveryinSpanish,andacultureandlanguageimmersion
coursetaughtinMexico.AcourseinLatinoPsychologyisrequiredforalldoctoralstudentsandistaughtinEnglish.Studentsspendaminimumof8hoursperweekatabilingualpracticumsiteforfourconsecutivesemesters,includingonesemesterofsupervisedsupervisionofSpanishlanguageservice.OptionalpracticainMexicoorotherSpanishspeakingcountriesareavailable.Todate,morethan150studentshavecompletedtheimmersioncourseinMexico.
In2002theSubstanceAbuseandMentalHealthServicesAdministration(SAMHSA)fundedthedevelopmentoftheCommunicativeandCulturalCompetencyforMentalHealthProviders(CCC-MHP)trainingprogram.TheCCC-MHPprojectofferedtrainingtomentalhealthproviders.TheoutcomeevaluationfortheCCC-MHPprogramindicatedthatparticipantsgainedconfidenceintheirabilitytodelivermentalhealthservicesinSpanish,increasedtheircompetenceindeliveringservicesinSpanish,improvedtheirconversationalproficiency,andincreasedtheamountoftimetheythoughtinSpanishwhenconductinginterviewsinSpanish.TheCCC-MHPInstructorsManual,whichincludesaSpanish/EnglishGlossaryofTermscanbefoundonthepsychologydepartmentwebpageontheOLLUwebsiteatollusa.edu.
SinceimplementingthePSSSPprogram,thepercentageofHispanicstudentsadmittedtothePsyDprogramhasrisenfrom18%to42%.DatacollectedbytheAmericanPsychologicalAssociationindicatedthatHispanicscomprisedonly6%ofallincomingpsychologydoctoralstudentsin2002-2003.TheAPA2001EmploymentSurveyfoundHispanicscomprisedfewerthan5%ofthenewdoctoratesinpsychology.Since2002(thefirstyearthatstudentswhoenteredtheprogramaftertheinceptionofthePSSSPprogramgraduated),42%ofthePsyDprogramgraduateshavebeenHispanic.Also,since2002,78of198mastersdegreesinpsychologywereawardedtoHispanicstudents,representing39%ofthedegreerecipients.
Thecompositionofthefacultyinthegraduateprogramsisalsodiverse,includingfull-timeandadjunctfacultywhoarebilingualand/orculturallycompetentpractitioners.Currently,2ofthe5full-timefacultymembersinthePsyDprogramareHispanicand4oftheremaining7full-timefacultyinthePsychologyDepartmentareHispanic.AllfacultymembersinthePsychologyprogramarestronglycommittedtopreparingculturallycompetentpractitioners.
FacultyandstudentresearchandscholarshipincludetopicsrelatedtotheSpanishlanguageservicesandtrainingbilingualstudents.Facultyandstudentshavepublishedinrefereedjournalsandpresentedpapersorworkshopsatstate,regionalandnationalprofessionalmeetingsonourtrainingmodel.Todate,theprogramhasalsogeneratedfivedoctoraldissertationsdirectlyrelatedtoSpanishlanguageservices.TheAPAMonitorpublishedafeaturestoryontheprogram(http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb01/bilingual.html)in2001.ThePSSSPcertificatemaybeearnedasanelectiveconcentrationinboththeMSandPsyDprograms.Master’sdegreesareofferedinCounselingPsychology,SchoolPsychologyandMarriageandFamilyTherapy.
Department of PsychologySchool of Professional StudiesOur Lady of the Lake UniversitySan Antonio, Texas
Psychological Services for Spanish Speaking Populations
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OLLUwasabletoobtainfederalfundingtoexpandthetrainingtoundergraduatesandtopostgraduateprofessionals.Fundingforthedevelopmentoftheundergraduatebiliterate(duallanguageprograms)wasprovidedbytheFundfortheImprovementofPostSecondaryEducation(FIPSE).StudentsinthebiliterateprogramstakespecializedSpanishclassesandfulfillaportionoftheirgeneraleducationandmajor/minorrequirementsbytakingcoursestaughtinSpanish.InformationaboutthebiliterateprogramsisavailableattheOLLUwebsite.
New Faculty Profile: Carrie Castañeda-Sound, PhD
AftergraduatingwithmyPhDinCounselingPsychologyin2005,Ienteredthejobmarketwiththehopesofattainingmyfirstacademicposition.IwasecstaticwhenIrealizedthatOurLadyoftheLakeUniversityhadanopeningintheirPsyDprogram.AsagraduatestudentinUtah,IhadheardaboutthePSSSPprogramandevenconsideredattendingtheirsummerprogram.IjustknewIhadtoapplyforthepositioneventhoughitwouldtakemeevenfurtherawayfrommyfamilyinCalifornia.
AfterworkingwiththePSSSPprogramthelasttwoyears,Ihavewitnessedtheimpactsuchtraininghasonthequalityofservicesprovided.Beginningwiththeinitialphonecall,clientsareabletospeakwithatrainedSpanish-speakingtherapist.TheprocessoftherapyalsoisculturallycongruentforLatinos.Rarelyareindividualclientsseenfortherapy,insteadextendedfamiliesareabletoattendsessions.Finally,inmyexperiencetheSpanish-speakingclientsarereturningtosubsequentsessions,reflectingadecreaseinatraditionallyhighdrop-outrate.Unfortunately,thePSSSPprogramatOLLUisuniquewithinthefieldofpsychology.NotonlyisthereagreatneedforSpanish-speakingtherapists,butitiscriticalthatthesetherapistsbetrained.HopefullythePSSSPprogramwillserveasamodelfortrainingprogramsnationwide.
PsyD Student Profile: Mónica Escamilla, MS
SpanishismyfirstlanguageandalongwithmanyimmigrantsIstruggledwiththetranslationofnotjustlanguagebutofculturalpractices.AsmylifedevelopedinthisnewcountryImadeeffortstoholdontomyHispanicrootswhilelearningtonavigatethemajorityculturewithitsuniquebeliefs,practices,food,celebrations,andidiomsofthenewlanguage.DuringmygraduatestudiesIwasdrawntoOurLadyoftheLakeduetoitsuniquefocusonaddressingtheneedsof
Spanish–speakingpopulations.Iwasexcitedabouttheopportunitytolearnhowtoaddresstheneedsofthispopulationwithintheirworldviewandnotimposeonthemthefurtherstressofbeingmisunderstood.
ThetrainingIreceivedwasessentialinmygrowthasatherapist.WhileIwasawareofmyculturalpracticesandvaluesandspokethelanguageIhadbeenmissingkeypieces.Igainedaprofessionalvocabularythatallowedmetoappropriatelycommunicatetheoryandassessmenttermswithotherprofessionals
andclients.FurtherIlearnedaboutchoosingappropriatepsychologicalassessmentmeasures,modifyingthestructureofsessions,payingattentiontouniquefamilydynamics,andtheincorporationofcuentos,refranes,anddichosintherapysessions.
InowtakegreatpleasureinsharingwhatIhavelearnedwiththestudentsIsuperviseattheclinicandwhenspeakingatworkshopsandseminars.TheSpanish-speakingpopulationisquicklygrowingintheU.S.Understandingtheuniquechallengestheyfaceandlearninghowtousethedistinctivearrayofcopingmechanismandresourcestheypossesscanonlyenrichourwork.
PublicationsBiever,J.L.,Castaño,M.T.,delasFuentes,C.,González,C.,Servín-López,S.,Sprowls,C.&Tripp,C.G.(2002)TheroleoflanguageintrainingpsychologiststoworkwithHispanicclients.ProfessionalPsychology:ResearchandPractice,33,330–336.
Biever,J.L.,Castaño,M.T.,González,C.,Levy-Navarro,R.,Sprowls,C.,&Verdinelli,S.(2004).Spanish-LanguagePsychotherapy:Therapists’ExperiencesandNeeds.AdvancesinPsychologyResearch,Volume29(pp.157-182).Hauppauge,NY:NovaSciencePublishers.
Biever,J.L.,Bobele,M.,North,M.-W.,&Palmer,S.(2002).Therapywithinterculturalcouples:Apostmodernapproach.InMulticulturalcounseling:Areader.(pp.73-81):SagePublications,Inc.
Castaño,M.T.,Biever,J.L.,González,C.G.,&Anderson,K.B.(inpress).ChallengesofProvidingMentalHealthServicesinSpanish.ProfessionalPsychology:ResearchandPractice.
DissertationsCastaño,M.T.(2002).TrainingExperiencesofBilingualMentalHealthServiceProviders.
Espinosa,R.(2003).VoicesofWomenonaJourney:TheExperiencesofUndocumentedWorkersinLaredo,Texas.
Escamilla,M.(inprogress).HispanicFemaleAlzheimer’sCaregiversPerceptionsofCaring.
Márquez,B.(2005).UnderstandingMultipleRelationships:PerspectivesFromMexicanClientsAndTherapists.
Mata-Galan,E.(2003).AQualitativeAnalysisofUniversityStudentsfromLatinAmericanCountries.
Servín-López,S.(2002).ProfessionalDevelopmentofLatinaGraduateStudents:APhotographicPhenomenologicalStudy.
Sprowls,C.(2002).BilingualTherapists’PerspectivesofTheirLanguageRelatedSelf-ExperiencesDuringTherapy.
Verdinelli,S.(2006).NarrativesofBilingualCounselors.
Certificate Coursework Required
PSYC5377G Professional/TechnicalSpanish
PSYC8331 LanguageandPsychosocialVariablesinInterviewsand AssessmentswithLatinos
PSYC8356 NormalFamilyProcessesAcrossCultures
PSYC8430 Socio-culturalFoundationsofCounselingMexicansand Mexican-Americans
PSYC9356 LatinoPsychology
Practica Mustspendaminimumofeighthoursperweekata bilingualpracticumsiteforthreeconsecutivesemesters. AnoptionalpracticuminMexicoorotherSpanish- speakingcountrymaybearranged.
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