Certificate in Latin American Family Therapy

Mexico and the United States share a border and are forever connected. Each year, as topics such as immigration, education, oppression, language, and cultural conflicts are increasingly discussed by the media, this relationship becomes ever more important.

The Marital and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University recognizes that these social factors often have a direct impact on the lives of many children, couples and families. The Marital and Family Therapy Program feels an obligation to help future mental heath workers develop the competencies to meet the clinical needs of the Latino community. For this reason, the program has developed a Certificate in Latin American Family Therapy.

The Need for Culturally Competent Mental Health Practitioners

The Latino population faces a crisis in that it often struggles in connecting with competent mental health providers who possess a sound knowledge of and sensitivity to the unique needs of their community. This is very relevant in California, which has the highest Latino population of any state and by most calculations now account for one in three persons in California (US Census, 1999). Given continued immigration and other factors, this number is consistently increasing. Recent projections suggest that Latinos will become the largest ethnic group in California by the year 2020.

Unfortunately, the mental health fields have not kept pace with these demographic changes. The Certificate is one effort to address the community need for mental health providers trained in working with Latin American populations.

Alliant's Certificate in Latin American Family Therapy

Alliant International University and the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) is uniquely structured to provide a Certificate in Latin American Family Therapy due to the fact that Alliant has campuses in both Mexico and in the United States. The certificate draws on the expertise of instructors with backgrounds in systems theory, immigration issues, Mexican politics, indigenous healing practices, Latin American history, multicultural and liberation theory, and other topics with relevancy to clinical practice.

The Certificate in Latin American Family Therapy is designed to assist clinicians -- both those already in Marital and Family Therapy (MFT) and others -- in developing general multicultural competencies, increased an understanding of the historical and cultural influences impacting Latin American clients, and the ability to identify best practice procedures for assessing and addressing issues in Latin American mental health.

Course Requirements:

Psy 6326 Diversity & the Family (3 units)
Psy 6643 Cross Cultural Topics: Critical Issues in Latin America (Taught at Alliant's Mexico City Campus-Summer Semester) (3 units)
Psy 6654 Psychology of Ethnic Diversity: Latin American & Liberation Psychologies (3 units)

Additional Coursework for Non-MFT students

PSY 6312 MFT Theories
PSY 6313 MFT Techniques

Additional Requirements

Completion of the MFT summer program at the Mexico City Campus
100 hours of documented client contact within the Latin American Population

How to enroll

For more information about earning the certificate, about immersion programs in Mexico City or other training possibilities, please contact Jason Platt, PhD at jplatt@alliant.edu.