Latina/o Mental Health
Providers Network
(LMHPN)
The Latina/o Mental Health Providers Network is the result of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s commitment to diversity and multicultural psychology and generous support from The Chicago Community Trust. The initiative was developed as a response to the pressing need for more mental health professionals who are appropriately trained in the assessment and treatment of Latino/a clients.
The LMHPN meets bimonthly; members of the network receive continuum education credits on Latino/a mental health issues. In addition, the meetings aim to provide the space for providers to learn about other services available in the city, strengthen their referral sources, connect with other providers, and engage in deeper discussions on how to improve mental health delivery for Latinos/as across the city.
To increase the number of culturally competent mental health professionals, resulting in the development of more readily accessible mental health services for the Latino community.
Purpose
The Latino/a Mental Health Providers network wants to be "Un Punto de Encuentro" (Gathering place) where mental health practitioners from different backgrounds get together to learn about existing mental health services and receive free workshops to increase cultural competency with Latinas/os. Also, the LMHP network encourages practitioners to share experiences, methods, materials, ideas, trends, etc. in working with this population.
In addition, through meetings and the LMHP website, the network wants to reinforce the existing referral system to reduce the time Latino/a clients wait for mental health services
Goals
The LMHPN aims to Increase…
• The number of culturally competent providers and the cultural
competency of existing providers.
• Communication and collaboration between agencies.
• The amount of Latinas/os who receive mental health services and
reduce the time it takes to receive them.
• The number of Latinas/os who know how to access existing services.
• The amount of Latinas/os who report having completed treatment and
having received effective, culturally competent services.
Is the LMHP Network open for everyone?
The Latina/o Mental Health Providers Network (LMHPN) is open to practitioners from any cultural and ethnic background who work or want to work with Latinos and have the desire of increasing their cultural competency with this population. The LMHPN welcomes all mental health practitioners regardless of degree or certification to be part of this group. For that reason, LMHPN members cover the spectrum from practitioners with years of experience to those who are just starting their careers.
LMHPN’s Activities
• Identify agencies serving Latinas/os and builds a prospective member database
• Explore community strengths/needs
• Visit agencies and prospective members to establish a partnership
• Survey members about provision of services
• Host bimonthly network meetings
• Present at public conference on Mental Health in the Latina/o Community
• Develop a strategic plan for growth and sustainability in the service of Latinas/os