Adriana Pena

Dr. Peña is a core faculty member of the TCSPP at XULA program. Prior to her current appointment, Dr. Peña worked as a forensic psychologist in Massachusetts where she completed court-ordered forensic evaluations for Massachusetts Juvenile Courts. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship through Cambridge Health Alliance during which time she was an appointed clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Peña completed her APA-accredited internship at Boston University School of Medicine-Center for Multicultural in Psychology where she completed two yearlong rotations at Bridgewater State Hospital and Boston Medical Center-Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry. Dr. Peña completed her doctoral training at Spalding University in Louisville, KY where she completed a forensic emphasis area. She completed her undergraduate training at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Peña identifies as a psychologist, researcher, poet, and MC of Cuban and Colombian descent. Dr. Peña uses her lived experiences and cultural knowledge to inform her scientific research and interpretations. Her primary research interests include topics related to mental health disparities, trauma, cycles of violence, and culturally-responsive psychotherapy. Within her research, Dr. Peña aims to help raise awareness about the negative psychological consequences of trauma, oppression, and violence to disrupt cycles of abuse and marginalization. By investigating the relationships between trauma, and violence, she aims to create a more peaceful and harmonious society.

Dr. Peña's clinical work uses an integrative framework with primarily psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches. She is a trained English and Spanish bilingual clinician and has practiced with diverse patient populations. For fun, Dr. Peña enjoys riding her motorcycle and walking her dogs.

Selected Publications: Williams, M. T., Kanter, J. W., Peña, A., Ching, T. H., & Oshin, L. (2020). Reducing microaggressions and promoting interracial connection: The racial harmony workshop. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. Lea, R., Burke, C., Peña, A., Joseph, J., & Wohlfarth, D. (2018). Understanding the Impact of and Addressing Classroom Microaggressions. In T. Forde (Ed.), Cultural Competency Handbook, Volume I: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction. Peña, A., Lea, R., Burke, C., Frazier, V., & Wohlfarth, D. (2018). Multicultural Relationships within the Academic Setting: The Influence of Power and Cultural Trust. In T. Forde (Ed.), Cultural Competency Handbook, Volume I: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction. Bosson, R., Williams, M. T., Schlaudt, V., Carrico, R., Peña, A., Ramirez, J., & Kanter, J. (2017). Evaluating mental health in Cuban refugees: The role of the Refugee Health Screener-15. Journal of Refugee & Global Health, 1(1), 15-23. doi: 10.18297/rgh/vol1/iss1/4 Williams, M. T., Peña, A., & Mier-Chairez, J. (2017). Assessing and treating racism-related stress and trauma among Latinos. In L. T. Benuto (Ed.), Toolkit for Counseling Spanish-Speaking Clients. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-64880-4. Williams, M. T., Mier-Chairez, J., & Peña, A. (2017). Tools for treating obsessive compulsive disorder among Latinos. In L. T. Benuto (Ed.), Toolkit for Counseling Spanish-Speaking Clients. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-64880-4. Bosson, R., Williams, M. T., Frazier, V., Lippman, S., Carrico, R., Kanter, J., Pena, A., Mier- Chairez, J., & Ramirez, J. (2017). Addressing refugee mental health needs: From concept to implementation. The Behavior Therapist. 40 (3): 110-112

Selected Publications:

Williams, M. T., Kanter, J. W., Peña, A., Ching, T. H., & Oshin, L. (2020). Reducing

microaggressions and promoting interracial connection: The racial harmony workshop. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Lea, R., Burke, C., Peña, A., Joseph, J., & Wohlfarth, D. (2018). Understanding the Impact

of and Addressing Classroom Microaggressions. In T. Forde (Ed.), Cultural

Competency Handbook, Volume I: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction.

Peña, A., Lea, R., Burke, C., Frazier, V., & Wohlfarth, D. (2018). Multicultural

Relationships within the Academic Setting: The Influence of Power and Cultural Trust. In T. Forde (Ed.), Cultural Competency Handbook, Volume I: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction.

Bosson, R., Williams, M. T., Schlaudt, V., Carrico, R., Peña, A., Ramirez, J., & Kanter, J.

(2017). Evaluating mental health in Cuban refugees: The role of the Refugee Health

Screener-15. Journal of Refugee & Global Health, 1(1), 15-23. doi: 10.18297/rgh/vol1/iss1/4

Williams, M. T., Peña, A., & Mier-Chairez, J. (2017). Assessing and treating racism-related

stress and trauma among Latinos. In L. T. Benuto (Ed.), Toolkit for Counseling

Spanish-Speaking Clients. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-64880-4.

Williams, M. T., Mier-Chairez, J., & Peña, A. (2017). Tools for treating obsessive

compulsive disorder among Latinos. In L. T. Benuto (Ed.), Toolkit for Counseling Spanish-Speaking Clients. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-64880-4.

Bosson, R., Williams, M. T., Frazier, V., Lippman, S., Carrico, R., Kanter, J., Pena, A., Mier-

Chairez, J., & Ramirez, J. (2017). Addressing refugee mental health needs: From concept to implementation. The Behavior Therapist. 40 (3): 110-112