I am a Bilingual School Psychologist with eight years
of experience working in the US school system, including
large, ethnically diverse, urban school districts in Chicago,
IL, Buffalo, NY, and currently in Phoenix, AZ.
I was trained in child development and adolescent psychology,
and specialized in conducting initial screenings and evaluations
for children of Hispanic/Latino background. I do school
psycho-educational assessments, diagnosing and classifying
children for the special education system and services
and provide consulting services to other psychologists
and school staff throughout the Phoenix school district
on multicultural psychological assessment. I have working
knowledge of educational law, the special education system,
and the general education curriculum to provide the best
practices and services for culturally and linguistically
diverse children. As a native Spanish speaker born in
Honduras who has lived in the US over 20 years and became
a US citizen, I am a bilingual/bicultural clinical practitioner
knowledgeable about Latin American cultures. Such personal
background has afforded me an insider perspective for
addressing the particular needs of children from Latin
America.
I have double Master's degrees, one in School
Psychology and another as an Educational Specialist (related
to Educational Psychology) from Loyola University-Chicago.
In addition, I have a bilingual certification from the State
of New York pertaining to multicultural psychological issues
that officially sanctions me to perform multilingual/multicultural
screenings and assessments with children from different
cultures, including Latin American. My training covers the
following areas:
Acculturation levels
Racial/ethnic identity
Language development
Cognitive behavioral therapy and counseling
Bilingualism
Cultural behavior patterns and adaptive Functioning
This academic training and practical experience
are needed for multicultural evaluations and treatment plans
of adopted children and children from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds. My rigorous academic training, extensive
psychometrics experience, personal background, and dedicated
commitment and passion for the well-being of children help
me immensely in meeting the developmental and learning needs
of multicultural and linguistically diverse children and in
addressing the concerns of their families and instructors.
