Since 1973, La Clínica has provided culturally appropriate behavioral health services to diverse populations. While access to behavioral health insurance coverage has significantly improved in the last two decades, many in our community with mental illnesses and substance use disorders still lack access to culturally appropriate treatment services. La Clínica has long recognized this challenge and has trained over hundreds of master’s level residents and interns, most of whom have joined the workforce as culturally competent behavioral health clinicians through La Clínica’s Behavioral Health Training Center.
La Clínica’s Behavioral Health Training Center provides a graduate clinician training program with dynamic supervision from LCSWs, LMFTs, Licensed Psychologists, a Board Certified Psychiatrist, and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, with an emphasis in providing culturally responsive, evidencebased, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed practice for the Latinx* community. The training also includes Didactic sessions taught by seasoned clinicians, colocated UC Berkeley and Stanford University faculty, and indigenous healers as well as one-way mirror supervision.
In 2018, third and fourth year psychiatric residents, and psychiatric nurse practitioner interns were added to the trainee group to create a multidisciplinary learning environment. The Center also serves as a research incubator that engages in projects that integrates clinical training with best treatment practices for the Latinx community. The Center currently partners with UC Berkeley, School of Social Welfare; Cal State East Bay; California Institute for Integral Studies; Alliant University; SFSU, Department of Social Work; The Wright Institute; Stanford University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; and UCSF College of Nursing.
For more information, read the program’s information page or contact Casa Del Sol Manager Joseph Perales at 510-535-6200 or jperales@laclinica.org.
*Latinx (la-teen-ex) is a gender-neutral term used instead of Latino or Latina.