Foundational Level – Level 1
This is a 4 Session On-line Training on a clinical approach to working successfully with Chicanx & Latinx clients taught by Dr. Manuel X. Zamarripa, LPC-S. The entire series is a total of 9 hrs. with each session being 2.5 hrs. (with the exception of the final session, 1.5hrs.).
Participants will gain a foundation for culturally responsive therapy from a Chicanx Affirmative approach.
What is Chicana/o/x Affirmative Therapy?
The foundations of this Chicana/o/x Affirmative Therapy are: 1) It is an approach that assumes centralizing culture and a positive perception of one’s own culture background can and should be facilitated in psychotherapy with Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x clients. 2) Chicana/o/x Affirmative Therapy is an approach which actively centers and privileges Chicana/o/x culture in the therapeutic process. 3) It’s foundations, principles and methods affirm both ancestral and contemporary healing foundations of Chicana/o/x culture and lifeways.
Dr. Zamarripa will describe foundational aspects of “Browning” counseling, describe how traditional/individualistic concepts in mental health can be culturally incongruent for Chicanx/Latinx populations, and review ways to decolonize the current notion of mental health. While the mental health field continues to move toward inclusivity of diverse populations, many of the foundational concepts are still rooted in Western and individualistic worldviews. Chicanx experiences and history include a varying sense of what constitutes wellness and well-being as well as what constitutes appropriate help-seeking behaviors. If psychotherapy and the mental health field are to be responsive to this population, they must incorporate a broader view of these notions, as well as the therapist not only being responsive but also being more affirming of Chicanx experiences.
As a result of this training participants will:
Understand the framework for a Chicana/o/x Affirmative Therapy
Understand how a focus on identity, family, and spirituality are key in a Chicanx Affirmative approach
Learn to be culturally responsive to Chicana/x/o culture in clinical interactions
Gain an understanding of varying notions of mental well-being from a Chicana/o/x perspective
Apply these concepts with case scenarios in each training session
**Please Note: This training will critical of mainstream Western and individualistic perspectives that are the current foundation of the mental health field. Participants should understand they are entering a training with strong decolonial perspectives. All who are open and wanting to learn an approach that both expands and moves beyond the current Western practice of mental health are welcome in this training.