Latina/o Mental Health Certificate Program Offered in Orange County to Meet Mental Health Needs of Latinas/os

To address the increasing need for culturally competent mental health providers, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) — one of the leading nonprofit graduate school devoted to psychology, and related behavioral and health sciences — has launched a Latina/o Mental Health Certificate program at its Irvine Branch Campus. The only certificate program of its kind in California, it is designed to fit the schedules of working professionals and graduate students. Spanish language knowledge is not required to participate in the program as classes are offered in English. Mental health professionals (pre-licensed and licensed) will be trained on how to better relate and address the needs of, and increase their expertise in, delivering mental health services to Latina/o populations, moving beyond basic knowledge to gain broader insights into the Latino culture. The first module, “Interviewing Skills with Latina/os,” is being offered on February 7 and 21 at TCSPP’s Irvine Branch Campus. A list of all program modules and dates is available here.

The six program modules address Latina/o identity and cultural foundations, counseling methods, variables influencing health beliefs, gender issues and community mental health systems, among other topics, and each delivers a set of skills, techniques, and elements of cultural competence that enhance service delivery. Course modules (consisting of eight hours each; for a total of 48 hours) will award participants with eight Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs), and Continuing Education credits for psychologists. Modules can be taken separately or as a whole. Once a student finishes the six modules he/she obtains the Latina/o Mental Health Certificate.

“With more and more Latina/o clients seeking therapeutic services in the communities of Orange County along with the boundaries of culture and class widening the scope of psychotherapy for the Latina/o clinician it is becoming imperative that Spanish speaking clinicians have more comprehensive training in Latino Mental Health,” explains Doris Chastain, MACLP, LMFT, MFC, program/development director at Turning Point Center for Families in Santa Ana. “Clinicians working with the Latina/o clients require more than therapeutic expertise and the ability to speak Spanish…they require a better understanding of the Latina/o culture and the unique challenges facing Latina/o’s as well as developing a specialized skills set to best meet the Latina/o client’s needs.”

“The Chicago School is fulfilling a need among mental health professionals as they continue to see an increase in the need for mental health services in underserved populations,” says Nadia Rojas Jones, Ed.D., TCSPP faculty and program coordinator for the Latina/o Mental Health Certificate Program. “In creating this program, our goal is to ensure that clinicians become culturally competent providers who have acquired greater sensitivity to the role of culture, as well as to the economics and social factors in the developmental, emotional, relational and behavioral aspects pertinent to the mental health of Latinos.”

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Irvine Branch Campus is located at 4199 Campus Drive, Suite 400, Irvine. For more information on The Chicago School’s Latina/o Mental Health Certificate Program, contact Dr. Nadia Rojas Jones atnrojasjones@thechicagoschool.edu. A list of all program modules is available here.