Available for the 25-26 training year

DESCRIPTION:

Spanish Speaking Psychosocial Clinic (SSPC) psychology trainees will spend their time dedicated to evaluation, treatment, and community outreach/engagement in a 6 month-long rotation within SSPC. It will provide training and supervision in the provision of culturally responsive and comprehensive mental health services to the rapidly growing and underserved Latino/x community. Patients in the SSPC are across the lifespan and present with the full range of psychiatric diagnostic categories and are provided treatment in a variety of modalities, including individual, group, and family psychotherapy, as well as pharmacotherapy.

Trainees must be fully bilingual in Spanish and English.

The SSPC is staffed by culturally humble, bilingual/bicultural mental health professionals within the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology and social work who have extensive knowledge of Latino/x sociocultural issues related to immigration, acculturation, race/ethnicity, class, socioeconomic status, language, cultural practices, traditions and beliefs that impact the psychological functioning and wellbeing of Latino/x individuals and families.

Interns will learn through supervised practice, multidisciplinary case conferences, team meetings, and outreach/training opportunities. Interns will have the opportunity to participate in the overarching goals of the SSPC, which include: 1) Developing and implementing evidence-based for Latino/x patients and families, 2) Strengthening support for patients and families through education and training of mental health providers, educators, and medical providers, 3) Improving the quality of care for patients and their families through direct service-delivery.

HOURS PER WEEK IN ELECTIVE ROTATION:

6

MANDATORY SSPC MEETINGS:

Spanish Speaking Psychosocial Clinic: 2 hours (individual/group)

Individual Supervision: 1 hour per week

Group Supervision: 1 hour per week

Spanish Speaking Psychosocial Clinic Multidisciplinary Rounds: 1 hr (Wednesdays 1PM)

Spanish Speaking Psychosocial Clinic Didactics Seminar: 1 hr

OTHER MONTHLY MANDATORY ACTIVITIES:

Group Therapy Seminar: 1 hour per month

Community Engagement: 1-2 hours per month as available

The SSPC intern will spend the remainder of their time in didactic seminars and electives offered through the general internship program to broaden their overall training experience. The required seminars include Psychiatry Grand Rounds

FACULTY AND STAFF:

Erica Lubliner, M.D., SSPC Medical Director

Xavier Cagigas, Ph.D., Didactics

Jocelyn Meza, Ph.D., Attending Supervisor

TRAINING PROVIDED:

Interns will see patients with a wide variety of behavioral, emotional, and family problems that stem from traumatic events, medical illness, sexual abuse, physical abuse, community violence, racism/discrimination, immigration, and intergenerational trauma. Trainees thus gain first-hand experience working with Latinos/xs

and families struggling with challenges. Efforts will be made to provide culturally and linguistically cases consistent with the interns’ primary area of interest in addition to a breadth of cases to ensure adequate training across diverse areas of psychopathology.

Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Depression

A 12-week psychosocial evidence-based intervention will be provided for adolescents (ages 14 to 18) and adults [note: groups will be held separately for the different age groups] to improve mood and overall wellbeing. This 12-week manualized intervention will be led by Dr. Jocelyn Meza and is designed for patients who either have a current diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia, or who have previously met criteria for either of these diagnoses. Topics addressed include psychoeducation on CBT and depression, identifying and changing thoughts, improving relationships to improve mood, and changing behavior to support mood.

Family Systems Intervention

A family approach is used so that the intern learns how to work across the entire family, with parents (biological, foster, and adoptive), siblings of the injured/ill child, and significant others (as applicable).

Interns learn how stress related to medical illness or traumatic events reverberates across the entire family. An emphasis will also be placed on collaborating with the systems of care that support the child and family. Treatment may include Families Overcoming Under Stress (FOCUS) en Español, family structural therapy, and family level treatment models.

Trauma-informed Evaluation

Interns gain experience in both brief evaluation and comprehensive assessment for a variety of cognitive and emotional issues that impact Latino/x patients and family functioning and parenting choices.

Interns will be trained in assessment procedures, report writing, identifying practical recommendations, and supportive delivery of feedback to parents. Approximately 2 hours per week will be spent in evaluation.

OUTREACH/TRAINING EXPERIENCE

Interns will have the opportunity to participate in community outreach and provider trainings to help build community capacity to support Latino/x patients and families. This may include events or trainings to support Latino/x families, caregiver groups, community mental health workers (Promotoras), community-based non-profits, and advocacy. Outreach and training opportunities vary during the year, but approximately 2-3 outreach or training events will be completed over the internship year (averaging less than an hour/week).

RESEARCH

SSPC is developing new research projects that are embedded in clinical practice. Intervention development and evaluation, translational research, program evaluation, and data analysis/interpretation opportunities will be available to the interns to further their research experience.

SPANISH-SPEAKING PSYCHOSOCIAL CLINIC DIDACTIC SEMINAR

Orientation lectures will be provided during the first two months of the internship. Training and culturally relevant presentations will be held every Wednesday from 12-1 PM.

Seminar faculty include Jocelyn Meza, Ph.D., Xavier Cagigas, Ph.D, and Erica Lubliner, MD, as well as, guest lecturers/speakers.

Topics include:

 Social Determinants of Mental Health

 Cultural issues

 The neuropsychological effects of trauma

 Supporting Families

 Trauma-informed assessment and care

 Mental illness across a lifespan

 Resilience factors

 Trauma-informed psychoeducation

 Language barriers and facilitators

 Role of Immigration

 Collaborating with educators and other providers

 Role of psychopharmacology

 Spirituality and Religion

 Systems of care

 Understanding the needs of Latino/x families

 Challenging medical experiences

 Family Systems

 FOCUS in Español

 Advocacy

DIVERSITY TRAINING:

The SSPC Clinic has a strong training program that is committed to promoting a culture of inclusion and appreciation for diversity. We strive to support trainees across all areas of diversity including (but not limited to) race/ethnicity, gender, religion, gender identity, language, and socioeconomic status in order to expand cultural awareness and sensitivity, as well as to enrich the services we provide to the increasingly diverse populations at UCLA. Training is woven into various aspects of the training experience. Throughout the year SSPC Seminar Rounds hosts experts/speakers in the area of Latino/x mental health and culture to discuss important topics related to the field, including prevention and intervention, diversity, cultural awareness and sensitivity, as well as best practices working with diverse populations (e.g., LGBTQ families, foster/adoptive families, and underserved populations). Trainees are encouraged to engage in reflective conversations about their cultural identity, personal biases, attitudes, and values, in both, individual and group supervision, as well as during multidisciplinary team case conferences. In addition, cultural exploration is encouraged in all aspects of case conceptualization to determine how cultural aspects may play a role in symptom presentation, parental reactions, as well as how to incorporate these important factors into diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. Trainees are exposed to reading materials and training in working with interpreters, in order to meet the linguistic needs of patients.

SUPERVISION PROVIDED

Method of Supervision: Direct Observation and Case Presentation

Format: Individual and Group

Hours Per Week: 5 (1 hour of group, 1 hour of individual)

Days and Times: Wednesdays or Thursdays between 9 AM – 5 PM

Names of Supervisor(s): Jocelyn Meza, Ph.D., Erica Lubliner, MD.