Students and Faculty Attend Conference for Advancement of Latinx Population

Five students and a faculty member from the Utah State University Department of Psychology attended the 2019 National Latinx Psychological Association (NLPA) Conference on October 17–20, 2019, in Miami, Florida. NLPA is a national organization of mental health professionals, academics, researchers and students. The group’s primary objective is the advancement and application of psychological knowledge to benefit the Latinx population.

“NLPA is very, very dear to me,” said Melanie Domenech Rodríguez, professor in the Combined Clinical/Counseling Program. “I consider NLPA my primary professional home because we can engage in a vision and practice of psychology that is not mainstream. Many of the sessions at the conference focus on research or practice that has a goal to liberate people.”

Domenech Rodríguez encourages students to attend conferences like NLPA as opportunities to engage with researchers and ideas outside of what they find in their formalized education. She recommends they reach out to people they admire and attend sessions with those individuals. Domenech Rodríguez said students become the psychologists of the future, so it’s important for them to strengthen relationships with current leaders who are making advancements to build the community.

"NLPA is such a unique academic context. It is a gathering of amazing scientists and practitioners who live and exemplify the principles of diversity, liberation, and social justice,” said Cari Alvarez, graduate student. “Learning terminology and theoretical models that help explain how the aims and implications of my research relate to public policy and advocacy was an invaluable experience."

Domenech Rodríguez also recognizes the importance of students seeing so many Latinx psychologists. “For students to see the diversity within the community of Latinx psychologists, I think that’s really powerful,” she said.

“I enjoyed attending NLPA because I was surrounded by many Latinx researchers,” said José Manuel González Vera. “Being surrounded by people who look and talk like me made me feel empowered.”

Domenech Rodríguez added that NLPA is a place of belonging regardless of skin tone, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Many of the attendees at NLPA come from a work setting where they are alone in being a Latinx psychologist, NLPA provides an opportunity for those faculty, researchers, clinicians, and students to unite as part of a larger group and work towards changing the outlook of psychology in the United States.

“At NLPA, psychologists are aware that structures that create inequities can produce conditions of human suffering,” said Domenech Rodríguez. “When we engage in the development of treatments, the conceptualization of research projects, or any other areas of scholarship in psychology, the framework of the conversation is different from what many students experience in their regular classes and training programs.”

At the conference, students develop new ideas through attending poster sessions as well as conference workshops and presentations.

“My trip to NLPA was a scientifically restorative and energizing experience,” said Alvarez. “The sense of familia and commitment to the community are unlike any other conference.”

Find more information on NLPA and the conference at http://www.nlpaconference.org/.