The Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology held a study abroad trip to Lima, Peru, in April. This unique opportunity explored what it meant to be marginalized on a global level versus a national one, and how education differs between both countries. While The Chicago School has offered study abroad programs to Lima before, this trip was the first of its kind for the CMHC program, expanding opportunities for students to learn about counseling and mental health from a global perspective.
“The biggest takeaway was that what we call underserved here in America doesn’t even come close to underserved in Peru, especially when we talk about people having difficulty accessing services,” says LoriAnn Stretch, Ph.D., the CMHC department chair. “They don’t even have services to access in Peru. It’s a different dialogue and takes on a completely different meaning in Peru.”
The partnership kicked off when Drs. Stretch and Denita Hudson, Ph.D.—the two faculty leads for the trip—reconnected with alumna Carey C. Campbell, who lives in Peru and works at the University de Piura. Once Campbell learned that CMHC was developing a study abroad program, she offered up a partnership.
“Carey had expressed a need for mental health care in Peru a while ago and had spoken to me about how much she would love to have our students and faculty come into the country, see the environment and what they were experiencing and how we might be able to address some of those challenges,” Dr. Hudson says. “We were also looking to train our students to become trainers for the Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) program, which is sponsored by the National Board for Certified Counselors.”
Students received specialized instruction in the MHF program, and used that training to assist local community members in recognizing and addressing mental health needs within the cultural framework of Peru. The idea for the mental health facilitation program is that communities would have someone from within them to talk to regarding mental health needs.
Upon completion of the course, students received the MHF trainer designation permitting them to continue providing services domestically.
“It was a real give-and-take partnership. We wanted to learn from them, and in turn we shared as well, modifying our tactics so it worked for them in Peru,” Dr. Stretch says.
Students and faculty also had the opportunity to help build a home for a local family who had been living under a tarp—an element Drs. Stretch and Hudson added to the curriculum to give the group a way to leave a tangible mark on the community. It also led them to see just how entrenched their privilege was. After spending the day building the house, one student complained about not having hot water where they were staying, leading another student to say, “Isn’t it something that we are privileged enough to complain about hot water after we just built a house for a family who’s living in the dirt?”
To be aware of privilege is to become a better practitioner—because when a practitioner understands privilege on a deeper level, they are less likely to approach a client as if they already know who they are.
“The one thing I heard students say pretty consistently is that they will never assume they understand somebody’s experience. They learned to ask questions. They learned to listen first,” Dr. Stretch says.
It’s not just the students that were affected: Dr. Hudson came away with life-changing takeaways as well.
“As an educator and leader on this trip it was incredible to see students grabbing hold of opportunities and running with them,” she says. “It makes you feel like this is what you are meant to do. This opportunity meant so much to me, that I could receive this gift and give this gift at the same time. I’m looking forward to leading another one.”
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