Ten Counseling Psychology doctoral students from the Latina/o class of Ezequiel Peña, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, presented at the National Latinx Psychological Association’s (NLPA) 2022 conference in Denver, Colorado, in late October.

The student presenters were: Grace Ancira, Alyssa Arredondo, Jovanna Chavez, Marissa Collier, Olivia Hinojosa, Andrea Nava Quintero, Mayra Perez, Amanda Vega, Kelsey Tovar, and Kendalle Wexler. Dr. Peña also organized a symposium session with three colleagues, Drs. Carlos Ramos, Adriana Gil-Wilkerson, and Julian Crespo, in the Marriage and Family Therapy program. 

The National Latinx Psychological Association is the foremost national association dedicated to advancing Latinx psychology in the U.S. NLPA’s mission is “to create a supportive professional community that advances psychological education and training, science, practice, and organizational change to enhance the health, mental health, and well-being of Hispanic/Latinx populations.” https://www.nlpa.ws/ 

Each peer-reviewed symposium session, listed below, included three to four individual presentations. The symposium presentations:  

Arredondo, A., Perez, M.I., Wexler, K.C., Nava Quintero, A., & Peña, E. (2022, October 20-22). Social constructions of love and marriage: Strengths-based approaches to therapy with diverse Latinx couples [Symposium session]. National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.  

Vega, A., Tovar, K., Hinojosa, O., & Peña, E. (2022, October 20-22). Salud integrada para todxs: Culturally-attuned approaches to expanding access to mental health services for diverse Latinx communities [Symposium session]. National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.  

Ancira, G., Chavez, J., & Collier, M. (2022, October 20-22). Concientización de femicidio: Transnational experiences and strengths-based interventions of Latinas vulnerable to femicide [Roundtable session]. National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.  

Peña, E., Ramos, C.A., Gil-Wilkerson, A., & Crespo, J.F. (2022, October 20-22). Integrative approaches to Latinx psychology: The use of narrative, testimonio, and other literary devices in training Spanish-English bilingual therapists [Symposium Session]. National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO, United States.