Spanish for Mental Health Professionals

Catalog description

This intermediate-level Spanish course is specifically designed to prepare students to work with Latinx populations in the United States and abroad. Hispanics in the United States are expected to comprise nearly a quarter of the future workforce, and they are affected by mental health morbidity (e.g., anxiety, depression, PTSD, alcohol and drug abuse, and family conflict) in part due to the lack of linguistically and culturally accessible services. In this oral proficiency course, conducted primarily in Spanish, students learn the appropriate vocabulary and jargon associated with the discipline. Students develop awareness of the strengths, resilience, and protective factors that emanate from Latina/o culture through a selection of adapted videos and readings, grammar exercises, in-class simulations, and a mock video consultation. At the end of the course students are positioned to deliver more linguistically and culturally congruent interventions. Prerequisite: SPA 202 or SPA 221 or placement based on UW System Placement Test scores. Offered Fall.