Cuba
With Trip Leader, Suzanne Bennett Johnson (pictured front), representatives from the APA Delegation, and Cuban psychologists of the University of Havana and the Ministry of Public Health, after signing the Memorandum of Agreement between APA and Cuban psychological associations.
Havana, Cuba. November 2013.
An APA email sent out early last year inspired me to take a long-desired trip to Cuba. In November 2013, I joined 14 other APA Delegates on a journey to Havana. Activities included meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Public Health to discuss health psychology in the Cuban system, visits to community-based primary care and behavioral health care clinics, and engagement with mental health professionals involved in post-graduate work and community-based research.
Presenting at the 7th World Congress of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Lima, Peru. July 2013.
Peru
As the event coordinator for the Simposio Tapas y Vino: A Discussion on the Advancement of Palo Alto University's Internet-based Interventions in Latin America, which took place this past summer in Lima, Peru, I aided in organizing attendees, managing catering, and handing last minute logistics as they arose. An invitation to discuss my study abroad experience in Buenos Aires, as an example of the importance of cross-cultural training, was an unexpected surprise, and provided me the opportunity to give my first speech in Spanish.
Palermo District, Buenos Aires, Argentina. December 2012.
Argentina
After completing the immersion program in Mexico, I realized how important it was for me to improve my Spanish to the point that I could practice therapy with monolingual Spanish speakers. With the help of advisors, I created a practicum curriculum with Fundacion Aigle, a private psychotherapy foundation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My training consisted of classes with first and second year graduate students, participation in supervision groups for child, family, couples, and adult therapists, and live observation of therapy through a one-way mirror. Once my Spanish became fluent, I began conducting co-therapy in Spanish with Hector Fernandez Alvarez, Fundacion Aigle's founder and training director.
Mexico
After my second year of graduate school, in an effort to respond to the growing rate of monolingual Spanish speakers in the United States and improve my clinical skills in Spanish, I participated in the Spanish Language and Cultural Immersion Program with Alliant University, in Mexico City, Mexico. This four-week training included Spanish courses tailored to topics in psychology for mental health workers, site visits to local schools, dialogue on applying systems theory to local and global settings, engagement with indigenous healers and alternative healing practices, and a home-stay with a local Mexican family.
La Casa Azul. Frida Kahlo's and Diego Rivera's home-turned-museum in Mexico City, Mexico. July 2011.
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. May 2005.
Brazil
An undergraduate study abroad experience in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil influenced my career decisions toward an intersection of clinical psychology and social justice issues. The sense of injustice I felt toward a system that permitted my host family's unfair treatment of their domestic worker, Rosie, amplified the inequalities, related to issues of access and discrimination, which I took issue with in my home community. I was frustrated and saddened by the limited options available to her and felt a strong desire to engage in a career that could address both individual emotional distress and systemic barriers facing commonly under served populations.