Cultural Immersion to Enhance Cultural Literacy and Reduce Mental Health Stigma Among School Psychologists Supporting Latine Youth and Families

Abstract

Latine communities are one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S., representing nearly one-third of students enrolled in public schools. However, Latine communities experience significant barriers to mental health services, including a lack of culturally and linguistically responsive services. Although school psychologists are well-positioned to support the mental health needs of Latine youth, they are often not trained to deliver culturally responsive services. When compounded with mental health stigma among providers, this underscores the need to develop and deliver training experiences specifically focused on fostering cultural literacy and reducing mental health stigma. The purpose of this paper is to (a) describe mental health context and needs for Latine youth, (b) identify the role of school psychologists in supporting these needs, (c) describe how experiential learning opportunities can strengthen school psychologists’ capacity to support these needs, and (d) highlight a case study of a partnership between a training program (masked for review) and a community agency in (masked for review). Program context and participant testimonials are discussed, and a call to action for school psychology training programs is presented.