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Preceding this year's race, MSPP will also hold a breakfast foreducational, political and Latino leaders to discuss making mental healthservices truly accessible for Latinos and what MSPP is doing to facilitatethat access. Attending will be Representative Jamie Eldridge of Acton;Representative Elizabeth Malia of Jamaica Plain; Senator Marian Walsh of WestRoxbury; Former Senator Jarret Barrios, now President of Blue Cross/BlueShield Foundation of Massachusetts; and Ali Noorani, Executive Director ofMIRA.
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By 2050, experts estimate that one-quarter of the country's populationwill be Latino, yet only two percent of psychologists are really equipped totreat them. The MSPP Lucero Latino Mental Health Training Program seeks tofill this urgent need for Spanish-speaking psychologists, who understand thecomplex mental health needs of Latinos and the barriers to access. "Even amongLatinos who access mental health services, 50 percent never return after theirfirst visit, most likely due to a lack of 'cultural fit,'" says Dr. NicholasCovino, MSPP president.
MSPP's program is the first of its kind to require Spanish fluency,requiring students to undergo two summers of intensive language study in LatinAmerica, in addition to language support during the academic years and at USclinical sites serving Latinos. Recently returned from Costa Rica, the firstimmersion class will be available on Sunday.
Dr. Cynthia Lucero collapsed from hyponatremia while running the 2002Boston Marathon. Shortly after her death, MSPP and Dr. Lucero's family andfriends founded the Dr. Cynthia Lucero Center, which eventually created theLatino Mental Health Training Program as one of its major projects.WHAT: Sunday, October 14, 2007 8:30 AM --Latino Leadership Breakfast 10:30 AM--Dr. Cynthia Lucero Memorial Run and Walk WHERE: MSPP 221 Rivermoor Street, West Roxbury, MA
SOURCE Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
