Friday, September 15 kicks off National Hispanic Heritage Month. This observance (recognized annually from September 15 – October 15) celebrates the important contributions and presence of the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson created Hispanic Heritage Week to celebrate Latinx/Hispanic culture. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan expanded this observance to an entire month. Hispanic Heritage Month begins on the 15th of September to mark the anniversary of the independence of five Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, who all declared independence in 1821.
This month, we’d like to highlight Lantinx pioneers in mental health who have contributed important and meaningful work despite the structural, institutional and individual barriers they face. Plus, we can't forget the social, cultural, regional, religious, and family beliefs that make it challenging for this community to address their mental health concerns. We profusely thank them for their contributions.
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George I. Sánchez was considered the “founder of Chicano educational psychology.” He graduated with his Doctorate in Education from U.C. Berkley in 1934. Sánchez strongly advocated for Mexican American/Chicano students through writings, policy work, expert witness testimony, education, and research, including being the first to question the legitimacy and implications of IQ testing. He is still credited for his studies on bilingual education, which are still foundational to the field today.
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Jane Delgado, Ph.D. is a Cuban American clinical psychologist, author, non-profit executive and health care advocate. Early in her career, she was the children's talent coordinator on Sesame Street where she used her background in psychology. In 1979, she joined the Department of Health & Human Services and made key contributions to upend health disparities in the landmark 1985 Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health. She has produced over a dozen health-related books including "Salud: The Latina Guide to Total Health", first published in 1997, encouraging women to focus on self-care.
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Martha Bernal, Ph.D. was the first Latina to receive a Ph.D. in psychology in the U.S. from Indiana University Bloomington. She is known for her contributions to multicultural psychology and efforts to increase multicultural training in clinical and counseling psychology training. She fought for the need to prepare mental health professionals to provide services to the growth of ethnic minorities in the United States. Bernal was very outspoken regarding recruiting and training more ethnic minorities in psychology. Bernal has received many awards for her contributions to the field of psychology.
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Kiara Álvarez, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a licensed psychologist focusing on mental health equity for children, adolescents, and young adults. She is interested in the prevention of suicidal behavior; the integration of behavioral health care across clinical, school, and community settings; and the mental health and well-being of Latinx and immigrant youth and their families. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the William T. Grant Foundation.
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Dr. Nora Volkow is a Mexican-American psychiatrist and neuroscientist by training. She is currently the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Volkow pioneered using brain imaging to study the biological roots of addiction. She’s helped demonstrate that addiction is, in fact, a disease of the brain. She saw the ravages of substance use firsthand in Mexico City, where she watched as a beloved uncle battled alcoholism. That experience, among others, prompted her to devote her life to fighting substance abuse.
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Mental Health First Aid is an interactive 8-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments.
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Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is for caregivers who want to feel more comfortable, confident and competent in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. ASIST is a resource for the whole community. It helps people apply suicide first-aid in many settings: with family, friends, co-workers, teammates and formal caregiving roles.
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Youth Leadership Summit is where inspiration, motivation, activism, and change begin. At the Youth Leadership Summit, youth and adult leaders enhance their leadership skills and create action plans to create a healthier school through prevention efforts tailored to their school's needs.
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