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Posts Tagged ‘
spanish ’
Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Donald Chavez y Gilbert, MSW, LISW
School Social Worker
Belen, New Mexico
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| Mr. Chavez y Gilbert |
Q. What is your area of expertise and where are you currently working?
My area of expertise over the past thirty-four years has simply depended on the particular focus of my work. Undergraduate social work focused on the women's movement and ERA. In graduate school I worked for migrant farm worker champion Cesar Chavez, followed by protective services to children and adults for Hispanic and Indian populations in northern New Mexico, interrupted by a stint on the faculty of the College of Santa Fe School of Social Work.
On my own time serving on various boards and commissions my main focus was during the era of the father's movement. I was the president of the National Congress for Men, Washington DC and founding president of Dads Against Discrimination (New Mexico) which moved the state legislature to make New Mexico the second state to establish a presumption of joint custody for children of divorce. Most recently my focal point has been school social work and behavior therapy to rural populations in central New Mexico.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I come from a long line of rescuers and have always experienced a compelling propensity to be a helper of people less fortunate than myself. They taught me all about the origins of social work in the Elizabethan Poor Laws of jolly old England while enrolled at the University Of Michigan School Of Social Work just as they taught my fellow social workers. However, having lived and studied a considerable amount of history since then, it is clear to me that the first social workers date back even further; back to my ancestors of the Knights of the middle Ages in Spain.
In the Middle Ages knighthood was a very high station in society, and required swearing an allegiance, and vows of ethics. By his vows, the knight was required to swear to advocate justice and the protection of women, the innocent, elderly and the weak. He was in modern day lingo, a "change agent." The noble knight was a protector of the common people guided by a code of conduct and etiquette; an interesting parallel to the modern day social worker. As part of the knighthood ceremony, the knight was required to adopt an identifying coat of arms insignia, in ranching culture later evolving into the "brand." He then rode to all villages in the kingdom, and publicly recited his vows of knighthood so that all would witness his devotion to the King and his people. This part of the ceremony was to enable all in the Kingdom to recognize the knight, and if the knight faltered in his duties, he endured public shame and dishonor. A knight's honor was a virtue for which many knights defended to the death.
It should be noted also that the first cowboys/vaqueros and the whole American Western Ranching culture also evolved from the valiant Knights of the Middle Ages, a second interesting parallel to the culture we work with here in rural New Mexico. As a contemporary social worker and sheep rancher myself, it is clear now that these penchants to do social good have had at least a thousand years to work into our DNA. I must say in closing, that my DNA misses the romantic old fashioned version of making things better.
Q. What are the challenges to serving our growing Hispanic population?
Helping people learn to help themselves. Aside from the obvious battles against common foes such as poverty, unemployment, abuse of the innocent and defenseless, my biggest challenge has been to help the community of Hispanics to organize a healthy collective self concept.
Restoring the pride and nobility of our culture, language and family traditions is a monumental task. This goes beyond serving individuals and families one at a time to educating whole communities. I have approached this task via a regular Op Ed column in our local news paper to tying Hispanic history, pride, and tradition in guest appearances on National Geographic.com, the History Channel, and National Public Radio.
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Tags: Donald Chavez, Donald Chavez y Gilbert, Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
Posted in
About Social Workers |
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Marlinda Quintana-Jefferson, MSW, PhD
Broward County Health Department
Patient Care Administrator, HIV/AIDS Office
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Dr. Quintana-Jefferson
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Q. What are your areas of expertise?
My areas of expertise are in the area of mental health and social work administration. Although I do not currently practice as a mental health clinician I have a vast experience working with families, children and adolescents. Areas of expertise include child physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence and cultural adjustment.
Currently, and for the last ten years, public health administration has been my field, specifically focused on HIV/AIDS. My areas of expertise include supervision, budgeting, planning, program evaluation, and development of innovative programs and quality management initiatives.
Q. Why did you become a social worker?
I was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. My mother was a proud and dedicated social worker, and it was she who provided me with a close and personal view of the profession. The Chilean social and political dynamic in the seventies further strengthened my desire to pursue social work. At age 17, I was accepted to the school of social work at the University of Chile, and felt I had begun my journey toward making the ideals of peace, justice and self-determination a reality.
The Chilean coup d'etat abruptly interrupted my studies but not my commitment to pursue social work as a career. The coup changed my life's journey and took me from student to political prisoner to exile. Later, in my new host country, and after an adjustment to a new and strange language, I returned to social work studies at the University of Washington. This time, I juggled motherhood and a job, in addition to my school responsibilities.
While I attended school I worked at the South American Refugee Resettlement organization. My experience as a refugee and my social work background gave me a unique insight into the work. Later I was recognized by the United Nations Chapter in Seattle for work done on behalf of refugees.
My first social work professional job was as director of Mujer, a Chicana-Latina Organization, a grass roots, community based group. This experience convinced me that deciding to resume my social work studies in my new country had been the right choice. I realized that social work has a place in all parts of the world, and that the principles of social justice and self-determination are universal. Five years later, I returned to the University of Washington to pursue an MSW.
While in the program, I was awarded a fellowship in mental health by the National Mental Health Institute to work with minority populations. After graduation, and for the next 20 years, I worked in various positions across the country as a mental health professional, always focused on mental health programs that met the cultural and linguistic needs of Hispanics. (I even managed to return to Chile in the mid-nineties to teach at a University there).
Q. What are the biggest challenges to serving the Hispanic population?
The Hispanic population is diverse in ethnicity, language and culture. Diversity challenges service providers to become culturally competent, and to learn and appreciate the uniqueness of each Latino population group. Other challenges include adjustment issues brought about by acculturation and generational distance from or closeness to, Latino roots.
While some families may struggle to preserve traditional roles and responsibilities, others struggle with issues of adaptation versus adjustment. Another challenge is how to reach out to those who live in fear of deportation and the related loss of access to health care.
Social workers have a major role in meeting those challenges. Culturally competent practice and advocacy, as well as strength in promoting the betterment of the Hispanic community, should all lead to stronger community and a better overall system of care.
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Tags: Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, Marlinda Quintana, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
Posted in
About Social Workers, Hispanic Heritage Profiles 2010 |
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Susy Villegas, Ph.D., LCSW
Assistant Professor
University of Oklahoma School of Social Work
Norman, Oklahoma
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Dr. Villegas
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Q. Would you please tell us about your area of expertise?
My name is Susy Villegas de Chaverri; I graduated some time ago with a BA and double concentration in psychology and sociology from a French university in north Canada. I also completed a graduate program in Psychology at the University of Costa Rica, my native country.
Later, I came to the United States where I graduated with a Master in Social Work from Kansas University, and completed two specialization programs from the Menninger Foundation one in human sexuality and the other in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Last year (2007), I completed my doctoral program at University of Texas at Arlington. I am currently working as an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma School Of Social Work. During all these years, I have primarily worked as a clinician in direct practice with families and couples and child welfare populations.
Q. Why did you join the profession of social work?
As a young psychologist I found myself working with low income clients from remote areas in Costa Rica; it became clear during those early years that understanding the social context, culture, and environment was fundamental for intervention or treatment effectiveness. I later confirmed the same experience in the United States while working with Latino or Hispanic clients.
During my professional journey, I became a social worker, because as a discipline social work provides me the option of a larger and comprehensive scope of work. It allowed me to integrate my experiences into a holistic paradigmatic view that I value because of its complexity and practice flexibility. Independently of so many areas of professional practice, social work is embedded into a central set of ethical professional values that characterize social work as a value based professional discipline that is important for me.
Over the years and across my educational experiences, I continue to value the comprehensive, holistic, and integrative nature of social work. I completed my doctoral program because of my dream for a professional work that could allow me to practice in three dialectic areas which I believe crucial for balance-integrative professional work: direct client contact, teaching, and research.
Direct client contact or practice keeps me humble and grounded in the purpose and values of our profession, the complex realities of our clients, and the limits of our services. Teaching as I see it, is not only a privilege, but also allows me to engage in a stimulating exchange of ideas with students and colleagues that I value and see as instrumental for critical thinking. And then research, it represents for me hope and the possibility to contribute to our profession by searching for effective and appropriate interventions to the needs of our clients and communities. All of this is what motivated me to become a social worker.
Q. What you believe are the biggest challenges to serving our growing Hispanic population?
The lack of research about Latino/Hispanics in social work, culturally informed social policies, culturally relevant and effective programming, and culturally and linguistically competent professionals.
As the Latino/Hispanic population rapidly continues to grow, I am concerned that we as a professional discipline are not yet prepared to deliver culturally effective and responsive services to this particular client group. The thoughtful analysis and revision of main social programs and their cultural adaptation to the needs and characteristics of Latino/Hispanics is still missing. Also, as a professional group, we are experiencing a severe scarcity of culturally and linguistically competent social workers on all levels of the profession.
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Dr. Villegas
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National demographics alert us that Latino/Hispanic clients seeking social work services is occurring at a rapid pace creating a time gap between topics on need for research, policy changes, relevant programmatic adaptations, availability of effective interventions, and competent trained professionals.
Research on Latino/Hispanics in diverse service areas is incipient and at early stages of development at best. Studies on Latino/Hispanic populations are complex as issues of culture, race, ethnicity, immigration, and social power imbalances need to be attended. So, research to guide policy and programmatic changes has been slow in relationship to field practice where there are increasing numbers of Latino/Hispanics seeking services. Under these circumstances, policies governing main social programs could be expected to enter a rapid transition to respond to the overwhelming demands of larger numbers of Latino/Hispanic clients; the dearth of research could challenge the integrity of clear standards of practice and even funding sources.
At the direct field level, effective assessments and evaluations essential to feed program and policy decisions may be challenged because of the existing diversity within the Latino/Hispanic community. Assessments and evaluations can only be effective if they respond to the characteristics and needs of the target population. Unfortunately, there is not sufficient information about the diversity of Latino/Hispanic families living in our communities that could allow us to identify the main issues of concern. Even though individuals are impacted by similar issues, some specific Latino/Hispanic characteristics may impact or aggravate their circumstances (e.g., Hispanic language barriers and immigration issues). In order to clarify these circumstances more information about Latino/Hispanics and their response to social programs and interventions is needed.
Concerning culturally and linguistically competent social workers, the need for analysis includes all areas of development of a professional social work career.
The recruitment and retention of students at all levels of academic programs needs to attend to the availability and accessibility of scholarship and funding options, the flexibility of education programs, the existence of support, and the clear value of diverse student representation. In the job market, the work conditions and available supports, the value and respect for the worker's family commitments and time, the availability of advancement options, the salary and benefits packages, and finally the tangible recognition for the cultural and linguistic skills of culturally and competent social workers serving Latino/Hispanic clients need to be competitive with those offered by other professions and careers.
###To find a spanish-speaking social worker in your area please click here and select the Advanced Search function.
Tags: Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish, Susy Villegas
Posted in
About Social Workers, Hispanic Heritage Profiles 2010 |
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Lourdes Anduiza, MSW
Miami, Florida
Q. What is your area of expertise?
My area of expertise is child development, education, and psychotherapy, family therapy, individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I was drawn to the field of social work because of the flexibility of the degree. I enjoy helping clients directly through psychotherapy as well as on a larger scale as an administrator helping my staff.
Q. What are the biggest challenges to helping our growing Hispanic population?
The biggest challenge I find Hispanics face is their navigation through the special education system. Many families are either intimidated, lack the language skills, support, or time (due to long or sporadic work hours) to successfully help their children find the right services for their particular needs.
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Tags: Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, Lourdes Anduiza, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Lulis del Castillo-Gonzalez, MSW
PhD Candidate, University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
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Ms. del Castillo-Gonzalez
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Q. What is your area of expertise?
I am a social worker LMSW presently working on my PhD in social work. I have always worked on the administrative side of non-profit social service agencies and have seen how agencies generally react to policies around them. It is for this reason that I decided to pursue my PhD at this time in my life. It is my hope that I will be able to influence policy and decision-makers to make legislation and funding decisions that are proactive and truly beneficial.
My passion is working with and for immigrants. I volunteer with a local school district teaching ESL to mothers of foreign students. My research interest is with this group and their children. I see how often mean-spirited and unjust legislation has taken its toll on immigrants. As an immigrant myself, I can sympathize with them, and will work incessantly to further their interests.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I never wanted to become a social worker. That is – I never wanted to become what I thought was a social worker, the person who worked at the Department of Social Services with abused children! With a bachelors degree in psychology I had become an advocate for families, working in non-profit agencies that worked with this population in one way or another. When I looked for graduate programs to further my education, I found that social workers could do direct practice or community practice. I found my true love once I began my program of studies – policy and history. Learning about reformers such as Jane Addams made me proud to join their ranks and be called a social worker myself.
Q. What are the biggest challenges to serving our growing Hispanic population?
A lack of a fair, and morally just immigration policy has put a category of people in the ranks of second class citizenship. The present immigration policies keep immigrants in a position where they are vulnerable and can be exploited. It is our obligation as social workers, to fight for the rights of these oppressed and vulnerable populations.
Latinos fare much worse than other groups in education. While most people realize that education is the vehicle for success, this vehicle is often lacking wheels and gasoline when it comes to Latinos! Closing the door for many new immigrant children will yield angry and hostile young adults, with little ability to rise from poverty and pursue the American dream.
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Tags: Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, Lulis del Castillo-Gonzalez, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Ana M. Leon, PhD, LCSW
Associate Professor, University of Central Florida
Orlando, Florida
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Dr. Leon
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Q. What is your area of expertise?
For the past 30 years I have specialized in the mental health field working with children and families in diverse agency settings and roles. My passion for working with children has led me to various roles as a clinician and administrator, including serving as Executive Director of Psychiatry the Winter Park Memorial Hospital in Winter Park Florida. My work has also included years in private practice, as a program evaluator and a program consultant.
I am currently an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Central Florida where I have the opportunity to teach courses on clinical practice with individuals and children as well as courses in social work documentation and on research. I am passionate about sharing what I have learned as a clinical social worker who has practiced in both New York City and now in Orlando, Florida.
My training and research interests are primarily in the health and mental health issues of young children, specifically in Infant mental health. I also serve as a Vice Chair for the University of Central Florida's Institutional Review Board.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
Coming from a Latino family that experienced parenting, child abuse and domestic violence challenges, I have always believed that social work chose me. From as far back as I can remember, my role in the family was one that involved problem solving, advocacy and emotional compassion.
As a third grader, I knew that I wanted to help children find hope among the myriad of stressors that this vulnerable population so often experiences. Formal education and training gave me the skills needed as a social worker to use my compassion and drive to help others. Once in the field I realized that social work offered many diverse and stimulating roles and afforded wonderful opportunities using a wide range of modalities and interventions. One example of this has been the opportunity to integrate my clinical and research skills in creating the Collaborative Assessment of Life Functioning (C.A. L. F.). The C.A.L.F. is currently being used in 13 community based sites with various client groups in the Central Florida area.
Q. What challenges do social workers face in serving the Hispanic community?
My own challenges as a Latino child growing up in New York City have influenced my deep compassion and commitment to working with very young children. Children are "under construction" for a long period of time and therefore influenced greatly by their parents, families, communities and society. I feel strongly that children and especially Latino children represent one of the most vulnerable client groups social workers serve.
While my clinical, research and training focus has been directed towards all children, regardless of race or ethnicity, a major interest for me is the mental health of very young Latino children. Latino parents in the United States can sometimes lack the necessary child development knowledge to help their children reach optimal social and emotional potential within the mainstream culture.
The challenges that some Latino parents face are rooted in traditional values and role expectations, the multiple stressors they face related to poverty, immigration/migration experience, difficulties in English language communication and cultural value differences. Despite these obstacles and often with the support of parents finding their own way through the system, many Latino children demonstrate great resilience.
The rapidly increasing population of Latino families with young children across the country requires that more attention be paid to these issues. It will be critically important to conduct research and develop interventions that help parents create environments that are socially and emotionally healthy for the 0-5 year old Latino child population.
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Tags: Ana Leon, Ana M. Leon, Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Aida Rodriguez, MSW, LCSW
Mental Health Social Worker
St. Louis, Missouri
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Ms. Rodriguez and her son Zach
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Q. What is your area of expertise?
My name is Aida Rodriguez, and I am a Cuban-born citizen of the United States. My family emigrated here in 1960, but since then I have lived not only in the United States, but also in Spain for five years, and in Uruguay for two. I have lived in Saint Louis, Missouri, since 1991.
My area of expertise as a social worker is mental health. I currently work as a medical social worker at an inner city clinic, where I also do counseling with patients. In the recent past I worked as a sex offender treatment specialist through the Missouri Sex Offender Treatment Program at Farmington Prison in Missouri, where I was hired because of their need at the time to have a Spanish-speaking therapist who could conduct group therapy in Spanish for a small contingent of incarcerated Hispanics. For two of the three years I worked extensively with English-speaking offenders, and in addition I helped to integrate a small but very diverse group of Spanish-speaking offenders into the therapeutic community environment, and led classes and therapy groups for them in Spanish. I saw significant change occur as those men learned about the many factors which led to their inappropriate behavior, and about the role of personal choice and personal responsibility in all matters. For some, it was the first time they had contemplated such ideas, or developed friendships and dared to tell their stories to anyone. All of them struggled with their demons, and with cultural notions which could only come out into the open by doing therapy in Spanish with a therapist whose native language is the same as their own.
Today, most of my clients are low-income immigrants, and most of them are undocumented but have children who are born in the States. While I do counseling with these clients as well, it is of a different nature, often directed at cultivating self-esteem, improving domestic relations, and at developing parenting skills.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I came to social work "later" in life after being a stay-at-home mom for a number of years, and my interest initially was simply to enter the field of mental health and develop a private practice as a psychotherapist. Having experienced the psychological and emotional drama of immigration myself as a child, I had early on developed an intense desire to understand how people think, why cultures are so different, and why folks behave the way they do. Social work seemed to be a great way to scratch that itch, and turned out to lay the perfect groundwork for what I wanted to do professionally.
During my years at George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University I learned that I also had a keen interest in community development studies, and in international social work as well. It was a revelation when a professor said one day that in order to do International Social Work one no longer had to travel, so great was the influx and diversity of immigrants and refugees into the United States. All my interests somehow came together and astoundingly, a path in this career has indeed been unfolding as I put my skills and interests to work. Being a bilingual Hispanic has been key thus far, and I believe it will continue to be so up ahead.
Q. What do you believe are the biggest challenges to serving our growing Hispanic population?
Dealing with the results of a history of trauma is and will be one of the greatest challenges of serving our Hispanic population. While this topic is not often addressed in an open way, it is an important underlying issue for our Hispanic populations. A great many Latin American countries that have experienced devastating political instability, terrorism, extreme poverty, family disruption, and the decay of hope over time. Those places and their bleak realities may seem far away, but the people of those countries are right here among us in the Unites States mowing our lawns and installing our roofs. They hail from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, and Argentina, and more. Besides the anxiety and mood disorders with which much of the general public is now to some extent familiar, many of these people have a history of traumatic stress and PTSD or are strongly impacted by a loved one who suffers from these conditions. Their psychological and emotional experiences are complicated by a wide variety of practical problems, not the least of which have to do with immigration and language, as well as economic factors.
Also, as the newer influx of Hispanics see their children grow up bilingual they will struggle with the cultural gaps that immigrant families experience when the second and third generations come around. There will be great challenges for the aging population, a great many of them who are illegal immigrants, some of them quite uneducated and even illiterate, who worked hard, but were never able to save for retirement or pay into Social Security. They will become dependent on their American-citizen children for their financial support, but it is unclear whether many of these youngsters will have the educational preparation to support them here. Many of the older generation will return to their countries, and hopefully be able to retire on what money they were able to save, if any, and hopefully receive money from their children living abroad.
The separation of families due to labor immigration has impacted the cohesion of Hispanic families profoundly, and we are seeing and will continue to see the burgeoning phenomenon of the single Hispanic mother, and the need for Hispanic men to find meaning to their lives in a culture where marriage and family cohesion are not the norm. This will impact the new generation too, and hopefully it will result in children who will grasp the opportunity to become self-made individuals, taking the best that their backgrounds offer, and discarding the rest.
I believe that the social work principle of EMPOWERMENT will play a key role in our work with Hispanic individuals and those of other cultures. As social workers we should strive to reassure our clients that healing is theirs to have if only they reach for it. We must work to remind our clients that they can learn to dream again – or perhaps, learn to dream for the first time, ever.
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Tags: Aida Rodriguez, Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, MSW, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
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About Social Workers, Hispanic Heritage Profiles 2010 |
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Bernard J. Baca, PhD, LCSW
www.indiana-imago.com
Indianapolis, Indiana
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Dr. Baca
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Q. What is your area of expertise?
I am a clinician and educator with 21 years of experience. I hold a doctorate and master’s degree in clinical psychology and a master’s degree in social work and have supervised graduate and post graduate students and has taught classes in the marriage and family therapy graduate program at Christian Theological Seminary.
My work has been published in a number of publications concerning Imago Relationship theory and practice. He has presented national workshops in the area of marital therapy, working with character problems, object relations, envy, and pedophilia. My areas of expertise are Couples Therapy, Family Therapy, cultural competency for Latinos, Object relations theory, Sexual abuse (both perpetrator and victim) assessment and treatment.
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Dr. Baca and his wife
Rev. Shermie L. Schafer
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Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I grew up in an psychologically dysfunctional family, and wanted to “help them” and myself as a social worker. I was trained by Drs. Harville Hendrix and Pat Love as a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist and Couples Workshop Presenter respectively. I love helping couples blossom relationally by helping them understand themselves through their partner’s experience of them. My wife Rev. Shermie L. Schafer is also a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist and together we conduct couples Imago Workshops.
Q. What are the challenges facing social workers to help our growing Hispanic population?
Understanding that the process of “acculturation/assimilation” is a three generational process and can not be shortened. Understanding, and acceptance of the self within the broader society and one’s transitional space in the original Latino society and culture is critical.
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Tags: Bern Baca, Bernard Baca, Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Elizabeth Davidson Arellano, MSW, LISW
Clinical Social Worker
and Infant Mental Health Therapist
Santa Fe Community Infant Program of
Las Cumbres Community Services
Santa Fe, New Mexico
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Ms. Davidson Arellano
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Q. What is your area of expertise?
I provide home-based infant mental health services including counseling, emotional support, parenting education, developmental guidance, as well as case management and advocacy to parents/caregivers and their young children with the overall goal of enhancing and strengthening the parent-child relationship.
I work with families facing a wide array of challenges including child abuse and/or neglect, family violence, substance abuse, prenatal drug exposure, developmental delays, teen pregnancy, post partum depression, mental health concerns, poverty, etc.
I am also adjunct faculty at New Mexico Highlands University, serving as Field Consultant for social work student interns in northern New Mexico. I recently completed the Las Cumbres Early Childhood Mental Health Training Institute; a two year post graduate certificate program.
I was also recently appointed by the New Mexico Lieutenant Governor to the Early Childhood Action Network which is a policy advisory board to the Children's Cabinet. I am a long time member of the National Association of Social Workers, the New Mexico Association for Infant Mental Health and the World Association for Infant Mental Health.
Q. Why did you become a social worker?
I was inspired to enter the field of social work by the examples of two family members who are social workers. One cousin received his doctorate from a prestigious university and returned to his community to utilize his skill and expertise to assist those in need. He ran a community health clinic for many years and under his leadership the clinic grew and services expanded with an emphasis on serving the underserved and financially disadvantaged in a respectful, culturally sensitive manner.
Another cousin worked as an administrator and professor of social work in schools in California, Texas and New Mexico. It was powerful to witness a fellow member of the Hispanic community, "one of our own", succeed as a professional and excel at their endeavors while holding steadfast to their cultural values and ideals. These examples ignited in me a strong sense of social justice and a desire to transform oppression to empowerment. Social work for me weaves together the core essences of many diverse disciplines and unites them in a way that is transformative both at the individual and societal levels.
Q. What do you think are the greatest challenges to serving our growing Hispanic population?
There are many challenges facing the growing Hispanic population but the current political climate and attitudes toward immigration (specifically from Spanish speaking countries) has an enormous impact. This climate of fear has led to an under-reporting of domestic violence, reluctance seeking out or even accepting much needed services, an increase risk of exploitation, increased poverty, etc. As difficult as that challenge is, I a see another that is more tenuous and harder to define. That challenge is the lack of unity between the various Hispanic populations.
There is tremendous diversity implied in the term "Hispanic"; differences in country of origin, acculturation level, specific cultural practices, etc. But, if brought together, with dignity and respect, we would have such an enormous and palpable impact. There is more transformative potential in our unity than in our disparateness. A unified block has the potential to be a political and economic powerhouse. But first we would have to get past our own biases and prejudices and embrace one another, maximize our commonalities, while not losing our own specific and unique cultural identity.
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Tags: Elizabeth Davidson Arellano, Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
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Introduction
We asked several outstanding Hispanic social workers to tell us why they chose social work as their profession and what they see as challenges to serving the Hispanic community today.
Evelyn M. Goris, MSW, LCSW
Psychotherapist
New York, NewYork
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Ms. Goris
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Q. What is your area of expertise?
I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in New York City. I graduated from Columbia University in 1979 as a clinical social worker with a specialization in Health/Mental Health. In 1989, completed a three-year Post-Masters program in Clinical Family Therapy at the Hunter School of Social Work. For almost thirty years, I have worked in hospitals, community health centers, as an administrator in higher education, and as a private practitioner.
Currently, I am working in a community mental health clinic where I am the only Spanish speaking therapist, providing clinical services to children and their parents, adolescents, adults and the elderly. I have a general private practice, and my area of specialization is providing mental health services to clients with chronic illness such as anxiety and mood disorders, and medical illness including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, and HIV/AIDS etc.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I began volunteering at an early age. In high school, I started tutoring children in the elementary school I attended and volunteered at a nursing home in my community. Service to others became an important aspect of my life.
While my college friends chose more lucrative professions, I decided to get a Masters in Social Work. I choose social work because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, especially new immigrants to New York City. As immigrants, my family and I struggled to adjust and acculturate to a new society.
From my experience and in treating immigrants, I have first hand knowledge that the loss of country, separation from family, and the adjustment to a new culture can be painful and traumatic. Throughout my career, I have worked with diverse populations and people of many ages, races, ethnic and religious backgrounds, and sexual orientations.
Q. What do you think are the greatest challenges to serving our growing Hispanic population?
- Many Latinos go undiagnosed and untreated for mental health disorders due to a misunderstanding that unless one is "crazy" no treatment is needed.
- Misunderstanding by American healthcare professionals of Latinos' various native spiritual belief systems can lead to misdiagnosis and over-pathologizing.
- There is stigma and shame related to receiving mental health care.
- Due to fear of addiction, some Latinos refuse recommended psychopharmacological interventions, such as anti-depressants.
- Language barriers impede efficient communication with healthcare providers; add to non-compliance and lead to dropout rates.
- Difficulties in accessing care (lack of transportation, insurance and funds) can contribute to clients waiting until an emergency occurs to receive care.
- Insufficient supply of competent bilingual professionals.
- Financial barriers impede many Latinos from obtaining higher education in order to service others in their communities.
- Illegal immigrants are frequently uninsured and do not seek treatment for fear of deportation.
- Immigration policies frequently result in the separation of families, leading to unnecessary trauma.
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Tags: Evelyn Goris, Hispanic, Hispanic heritage month, profile, social worker, social workers, spanish
Posted in
About Social Workers, Hispanic Heritage Profiles 2010 |
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