Presentation Information
[O-12-03]Breaking Barriers: A Mental Health Conference for Spanish-Speaking Communities in the USA.
*Jose Alberto Canaca, Tomoko Hamma, Caroline Bonham, Mauricio Tohen, Deborah Altschul (American Psychiatric Association (United States of America))
Keywords:
Cultural psychiatry,Language,Community
The State of New Mexico in the USA has a distinctive characteristic: it is a state where the minority group is the majority, with approximately 50% of the population identifying as Hispanic. For over 30 years, the Rural Psychiatry Program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) has had the privilege of serving rural communities across the State. The services provided by the Rural Program include developing rural rotations for psychiatry residents and offering mental health conferences for providers in remote areas. These conferences, in English, were well received by those providers, but there was always a question by the Spanish-speaking providers floating in the air, "Why can't we have these conferences in Spanish? Due to requests from multiple providers and the lack of training offered in languages other than English in the USA, UNM decided to address this need. For the last three years, UNM has offered the Rural Psychiatry Conference 100% in Spanish. Since its inception in 2023, this Spanish-language conference has attracted over 200 Spanish-speaking participants yearly from various areas in New Mexico, other states in the United States, and countries in Latin America, including Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica, among others. The community's acceptance of this conference in Spanish has been overwhelming, to the point that in 2023, the American Psychiatric Association published an article in Psychiatric News titled "Culture, Language of Latinx Community Honor in Rural Psychiatry Conference," highlighting this innovative conference.This conference has made us more aware of the diverse needs of our communities in the USA and beyond. Through this presentation, we aim to share the learning acquired over the past few years and the impact that a conference, presented in their language, has had on a community eager to develop capacities in mental health to serve others.