This specialization is offered to qualified Counseling Psychology, School Psychology or Couples and Family Therapy graduate students.
Students who complete the specialization acquire skills that support provision of culturally-relevant mental health services, and engaging in research with Latinx and Spanish speaking populations.
Our Spanish Specialization is designed to enhance preexisting linguistic and multicultural competencies, and increase cultural understanding of US Spanish-speaking populations.
Students learn to critically assess the unique social, historical, political, and cultural contexts that shape the experiences of Latinx peoples in the United States.
Particular attention is given to conditions of social injustice and inequity, and how these conditions influence the health and well-being of Latinx and Spanish-speaking communities, although these are just a few of the many goals and competencies the program aims to deliver.
Rationale: Spanish is the second most common language in the United States. Many communities in the U.S., including communities across Oregon, lack mental health service providers who are able to serve the needs of clients who are Spanish speaking. Providing quality services means more than having conversational language competency and extends beyond studying a few textbook chapters and articles on Latinx populations. Thus, this specialization is designed with the long-range goal of increasing the number of linguistically and culturally competent mental health service providers and researchers for working with Spanish speaking populations. Second, this specialization is designed to provide depth and breadth to the training of Spanish competent students in the participating programs.
Spanish Language Specialization Requirements — Total Credits: 16
Title | Term Offered | CREDITS |
|---|---|---|
Annual, fall term | 3 | |
Annual, winter term | 3 | |
Annual; fall term | 3 | |
Annual, spring term | 3 | |
CPSY 606 Practicum: Bilingual Supervision (1 credit for 3 terms) | Annual, fall, winter, and spring term | 3 |
CPSY / CFT / SPSY Practicum or Externship3 (In student’s major, clinical work with Spanish-speaking clients) | Annual, offered through your home program | 1 |
1 SPSY participants will take SPSY 633 Ethics and SPED 515 Diversity in Special Education.
2 The courses CPSY 626: Psychological Services for Latinx and Spanish Speaking Communities and CPSY 627: Topics in Latinx Mental Health are open to students outside of the specialization.
3A practicum or externship in the student’s major in which the student performs clinical work with Spanish-speaking clients.
Additional Requirements
Once admitted, students must complete the Specialization Declaration Form and send it to cpsy@uoregon.edu.
Required Continuous Learning Activities
Twenty hours of participation in educational and cultural events specifically focused on Latinx and/or Spanish speaking communities. Examples include lectures, panel presentations, and conferences (e.g. see CLLAS website or NLPA conference) could also consist of a graduate level course of 2-4 credits focused on Latinx histories or cultures and approved by the SLPSR Director.
Required Capstone Project
The Spanish Language Psychological Service and Research Capstone Project requires preparing and delivering an oral presentation in Spanish that is a minimum of 15 minutes in length. The presentation must be either a case presentation on mental health services provided to a Latinx Spanish speaking client, or a presentation of clinical intervention research conducted with Latinx Spanish-speaking participants.