Exploring the Spanish Team Experience: A Qualitative Study of Bilingual Therapists' Training Experiences
Location
3035
Format Type
Paper
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2016
End Date
January 2016
Abstract
Spanish-dominant Hispanics are among those who have been traditionally underserved by mental health service providers. The choice of language used during psychotherapy may impact both emotional expressions (Altarriba & Santiago-Rivera, 1994) and the recall and interpretation of events (Marian & Neisser, 2000). Language goes beyond the sounds and letters of the speech. The authors, all doctoral students who share Spanish as a mother language, come from a multiethnic background and were trained to provide counseling in Spanish through the certificate Psychological Services for Spanish Speaking Populations at Our Lady of the Lake University at San Antonio, TX. The certificate requires that the therapists in training provide psychological and counseling services in Spanish to members of the community at the Community Counseling Service (CCS). Our experience as members of the bilingual team prompted our curiosity to explore the meaning of other practicum students’ and effectiveness of the training they receive in the Spanish team at the CCS. This research explores central themes including Spanish language proficiency, cultural competency and application, general professional competency, and overall student’s satisfaction. The investigators will use narrative and thematic analysis along with descriptive statistics to understand the experiences of either masters or doctoral students in Spanish teams. In this symposium, we will share the results of this study, challenges encountered, feedback for the Spanish team at the CCS, and possibilities for further investigations or programs training bilingual Spanish/English therapists.
Exploring the Spanish Team Experience: A Qualitative Study of Bilingual Therapists' Training Experiences
3035
Spanish-dominant Hispanics are among those who have been traditionally underserved by mental health service providers. The choice of language used during psychotherapy may impact both emotional expressions (Altarriba & Santiago-Rivera, 1994) and the recall and interpretation of events (Marian & Neisser, 2000). Language goes beyond the sounds and letters of the speech. The authors, all doctoral students who share Spanish as a mother language, come from a multiethnic background and were trained to provide counseling in Spanish through the certificate Psychological Services for Spanish Speaking Populations at Our Lady of the Lake University at San Antonio, TX. The certificate requires that the therapists in training provide psychological and counseling services in Spanish to members of the community at the Community Counseling Service (CCS). Our experience as members of the bilingual team prompted our curiosity to explore the meaning of other practicum students’ and effectiveness of the training they receive in the Spanish team at the CCS. This research explores central themes including Spanish language proficiency, cultural competency and application, general professional competency, and overall student’s satisfaction. The investigators will use narrative and thematic analysis along with descriptive statistics to understand the experiences of either masters or doctoral students in Spanish teams. In this symposium, we will share the results of this study, challenges encountered, feedback for the Spanish team at the CCS, and possibilities for further investigations or programs training bilingual Spanish/English therapists.
Comments
Breakout Session F