Counseling Psychology (MA) Program

Specialty in Latino Mental Health

Lucero Latino Mental Health Training Program

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The Lucero Latino Mental Health Program (LMHP) at MSPP was created in response to the increasingly urgent need for culturally and linguistically competent professionals to serve the growing Latino population in the United States. The program is the result of a collaborative effort between MSPP faculty, MSPP students, and professionals in the greater Boston community. The program owes its inspiration to the work of the late Cynthia Lucero, Psy.D., an MSPP graduate whose career, in part, was devoted to addressing the needs of Spanish-speaking people. The program is open to students in the Psy.D. program, the M.A. in School Psychology Program, and the M.A. Program in Counseling Psychology.

The goals of the LMHP are:  

1. To increase the number of Latino mental health service providers in the United States by providing specialized master’s and doctoral level training in clinical, counseling, and school psychology.
2. To provide mental health professionals (both Latino and non-Latino) with the language skills, cultural sensitivity, and clinical competence that will enable them to deliver high-quality care to Latino populations.
3. To train mental health leaders who can create, direct, and deliver high-quality services so as to help eliminate societal disparities that exist with regard to access and quality of mental health care.

Broadly stated, the LMHP includes three major components:

1. Specific coursework at MSPP.
2. Sociocultural activities at MSPP.
3. A fieldwork immersion experience in a Latin American country.

Included in the first component are a course on Diversity and Cross Cultural Psychology, coursework on Latino Mental Health in the U.S. Social Context, a year-long clinical seminar held in Spanish, and completion of a scholarly project on a topic of relevance to Latino mental health. Included in the second are a conversational Spanish support group and exposure to films, music and dance presentations, folk healing rituals, and other aspects of Latino culture. Included in the third component is a field work immersion experience in a Latin American country. 

Program Requirements and Levels of Participation

Eligibility
The LMHP is open to any student who has at least an intermediate level of Spanish fluency and expresses serious interest and/or commitment to working with Latino populations.

Levels of Participation
The Program can be attended on a Certificate or Non-Certificate basis. Students who participate on a Certificate basis will complete all required LMHP activities and will be awarded a certificate; these students’ immersion experiences will be subsidized by MSPP. Students who participate on a Non-Certificate basis can take part in any of the Program activities but will not earn a certificate. Should they choose to take part in a summer immersion, non-certificate students will be responsible for its cost.

For M.A. Counseling Psychology students who choose to attend on a Certificate basis, the requirements are as follow:

1. Completion of the Diversity and Cross Cultural Psychology course (this course is already required as part of the M.A. Core Curriculum).
2. Participation in a year-long Clinical Seminar held in Spanish. (Participation in this seminar would take place during the second year of training and would be the equivalent of the M.A. Internship Seminar.)
3. Completion of a summer course on Latino Mental Health in the U.S. Social Context.
4. Completion of a five-week summer fieldwork immersion experience in a Latin American country. This would take place in the summer of the first year of training.
5. Completion of a Capstone Project on a topic relevant to Latino mental health.
6. Completion of a field placement in a setting that serves a substantial Latino population.

Students who are interested in participating in the LMHP should inform their advisors and should contact Dr. Amaro Laria, the LMHP Program Director.

Updated 3/27/08