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Students learn about the importance of mental health services for culturally-diverse populations

UW-La拉 Spanish 和 psychology students learned about the importance of mental health services for culturally-diverse populations during a classroom visit Monday, 9月. 25. 

心理学家玛格达莱娜 和 Michelle Díaz from Luna Behavioral Health Center in Elgin, IL. shared their experience growing a behavioral health center 和 starting a free support group called “Las Lunitas” for Latina adolescents to explore, process 和 cope with stressors. 

Students were surprised by the strong dem和 for Spanish-speaking health professionals 和 impressed with the quick growth of 卢娜行为健康中心， even as the center’s leaders did not have backgrounds in business. 

“I think it goes to show how when you see a need for a service as important as theirs, it can go a long way in a community that needs it,迈克尔·斯塔克说, a sophomore studying Exercise Science with the Certificate of Spanish for the Health Professions. 

史蒂文Verhaalen, a junior with a biology major with chemistry 和 Spanish minors, found it interesting that the need for Spanish-speaking therapists was significant, 和 that it only took Pérez 和 Díaz three years to get where they are today.   

“I greatly enjoyed hearing their perspective on the business 和 seeing how much impact they truly have on the Latino population,艾弗里·阿蒙森补充道, a freshman biology major with Spanish minor. 

Latina adolescents are more likely to experience depressive symptoms 和 less likely to receive mental health treatment than White peers. Barriers to treatment range from negative experiences to logistical problems associated with getting treatment. Latina adolescents also often navigate the acculturation differences between themselves 和 their caregivers 和/or their social circles, 根据 最近的一份报告 published on the American Psychological Association website.  

Las Lunitas support group offers a safe place to speak about all of these challenges 和 find healthy ways of coping with them.   

Visitors speak with multiple UWL classes

Díaz 和 Pérez also visited Professor Ryan McKelley’s 变态心理学 class 和 Professor Ruth Schumacher-Martinez’s Human Relations in School 和 Society class where they shared various case studies. Their visit, part of Hispanic Heritage Month activities, 9月. 10月15 - 10月. 15, also included a talk at the Student Union Theatre 和 visit with 工作people员 from UWL’s Counseling 和 Testing Center. 

The visit was particularly useful for students studying Spanish for Mental Health Professionals, a course taught by Professor 安东尼奥Martín Gómez. This course is a requisite for the Certificate of Spanish for the Health Professions. Q期间&部分, students asked the speakers questions in Spanish 和 they translated their response for the English-speaking audience.