For Jose Lopez, Ph.D. a faculty member in The Chicago School’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, multiculturalism has always been an integral part of his approach to teaching.
“I was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and our family moved to Dallas when I was a child,” Dr. Lopez says. “Growing up in Texas, I learned the values of my immigrant parents at home and traditional American values at school. This combination of perspectives shaped how I view the world and shaped how I teach. When I work with students, I pull from my own experience to demonstrate how identity influences every part of one’s lived experiences.”
Dr. Lopez often witnessed and experienced discrimination firsthand while growing up with a family that was undocumented for most of his childhood in a Dallas neighborhood known as “Little Mexico.” This discrimination diminished communities’ trust in healthcare and public safety systems.
It also influenced the unique lens through which Dr. Lopez sees the world. He came to understand the validity of the distrust, as these systems were not designed with the needs of communities in mind. In response, Dr. Lopez encourages his students to break down intergenerational barriers to quality healthcare by honoring the unique identities of the community members whom they serve.
“Quite frequently, Spanish speakers need to set aside their native language to seek mental health support,” Dr. Lopez says. “This tells community members that they are lesser than their clinician, but this approach is backward. As clinicians, we need to lead with a culture of humility to elevate the client’s needs in all that we do. A big piece of this is foundational, speaking the client’s language.”
To address this power imbalance, Dr. Lopez has launched clubs in which students can learn both basic Spanish skills and clinical Spanish skills. This helps them to provide more client-centric care to Spanish-speaking communities. At club meetings, students work on the language skills that will be pivotal in providing culturally competent care to growing Spanish-speaking communities and bridging gaps in Spanish-language care.
Says The Chicago School Provost Bill Brown, Psy.D., “Throughout our university, we are committed to the values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and impact. Dr. Lopez instills students with the values they will need to be the change-makers who craft more just, equitable healthcare systems for our communities.”