Viaje de Esperanza Scholarship

Growing up in El Paso, Texas, a border city where Mexican and American cultures intertwine, I witnessed how mental health was often dismissed, misunderstood, or avoided altogether in Latinx households. In my own family, emotional pain was dealt with in silence, and asking for help was seen as a weakness. This reality, common in many Latinx communities, inspired me to pursue a career as a mental health counselor. In my future role as a Licensed Professional Counselor, I would like to dedicate my work towards positively influencing how our Latinx community experiences, understands, and talks about mental health. As a bilingual, bicultural, and queer Latina raised in a low-income household, I understand how language, culture, and systemic barriers can prevent people from receiving the care they need. In 2020, I co-founded the Lower Valley Scholars Foundation to support low-income, first-generation high school students in the Lower Valley area of El Paso. Through this work, I saw the effects of often immigrant, Latinx families in my community struggling to help their children navigate through college applications, financial aid, and career planning. First-generation students who navigate through this process alone often overlook how this pressure weighs on their mental health, reflecting the cycle of disadvantaged Latinx communities fighting to rise. In my future as a counseling professional, I will build on my efforts in promoting educational equity towards promoting equity in mental health services for underserved Latinx populations. However, stigma surrounding mental health continues to be a major obstacle that prevents individuals from seeking resources and support. There is little faith in mental health services due to fear of being seen as “weak” or “crazy”. Growing up in a Latinx family, I see how often we overlook mental health and well-being because seeking help or openly sharing our struggles is shameful and disrespectful to our family members that have worked hard to provide for us. Along with cultural stigma, there are also real structural barriers, such as cost of care, lack of insurance, and language barriers. As the home of one of the largest Hispanic populations in the United States, promoting the need for bilingual counselors in Texas is critical to support the population’s mental health needs. As a counselor-in-training fluent in English and Spanish, it is important to use my shared identity with Spanish-speaking individuals to work towards achieving a deeper understanding of their experiences and struggles. Using my bilingual and bicultural identity, I will dedicate my efforts towards reducing cultural stigma surrounding mental health by having honest, compassionate conversations that gently challenge misconceptions. The stigma surrounding mental illness in Latinx households, paired with a need for bilingual, culturally competent professionals, creates an alarming gap in mental health care. I intend to help close that gap by providing counseling that affirms, empowers, and heals because I firmly believe that mental health care is a human right that everyone deserves access to.

Growing up in a Latinx community I have learned many things regarding mental health, but the two most prominent being that mental health resources can be difficult to obtain as well as difficult to accept. To start, the availability of mental health services is limited not only by language barriers but by affordability. Language barriers prevent individuals from being able to communicate their needs as well as receive them. This is further deterred by the cost of mental health services, even when covered by health insurance the high prices of counseling may leave individuals wondering if the service is necessary. Secondly, cultural backgrounds can heavily impact an individuals willingness to pursue mental health services. Varying cultures view mental health differently, and this can impact an individuals decision when deciding to accept or decline mental health services. I consider both of these to be serious barriers regarding access and acceptance to mental health services. Through my career and education I plan on further breaking down these barriers. To achieve this I intend on becoming a licensed counselor after receiving a Masters in Clinical Psychology. Along with this, I will gain exposure through my education to varying cultures to better understand the differences between individual cultures and how to be of best support to culturally different individuals and their health journey. I also aim to continuously advocate the benefits of mental health services along with becoming a well educated resource for others on where and how to receive these resources. For example, educating others on their community resources. Many individuals are unaware of the low cost counseling services offered at universities which are open to the community. As well some universities offering 2 sessions of free counseling to each student per semester. With this, I am open to share my personal background as a Latina to connect with others of similar backgrounds and give new light to the benefits of tackling mental health issues. What further motivates me to tackle this challenge is my own personal experience within mental health services. I grew up in a Mexican household, and from a young age I was taught that ones problems are theirs alone, and to remain within the family. Through the years of my adolescence I was consistently reminded that seeking counseling/therapy was a sign of weakness. This perception was then directed towards myself when I chose to seek counseling services for my own anxiety, which had become unmanageable and unbearable. Due to this I have continuously practiced challenging and deterring the negative stigma that has circulated mental health services. I consider myself a strong advocate for counseling services and continue to share with others my positive experience within therapy to which I believe to be an essential part of rebuilding my own mental health well-being. I hope that throughout my education and my future career as a clinical counselor I can become a stronger advocate for mental health services within my own cultural community as well as others.

Feelings of shame cause people to use a physical ailment over admitting to a mental health condition that disrupts daily functioning. Stigma impedes an understanding of symptoms, reduces help-seeking intention, and more importantly, denies hope for treatment. Exploring the negative effects of public stigma and self-stigma and engaging in group discussions could help raise a new generation of mental health clinicians and school counselors who will advocate for services that remove stigma and discrimination, as well as promote the humane treatment of people struggling with mental health illnesses and substance use disorders. I aspire to contribute to the Hispanic community in our public schools as a qualified school counselor, and I intend to design a comprehensive school counseling program that advocates for systematic change to diminish the stigma associated with mental illness and addiction. Ultimately, my most important responsibility will be to use protective factors including promoting high academic achievement, positive self-image, career development, and positive peer/social interactions to lessen the risks of substance use and provide students with coping skills to manage distress. My goal is also to become a Licensed Professional Counselor and work closely with the Hispanic community and take advantage of my bilingual and bicultural background to serve immigrant or first-generation populations.