Counseling Latinos and LA Familia: A Practical Guide

 Counseling Latinos and la familia provides an integrated approach to understanding Latino families and increasing competency for counselors and other mental health professional who work with Latinos and their families. It provides essential background information about the Latino population and the family unit, which is so central to Latino culture, including the diversity of various Spanish-speaking groups, socio-political issues, and changing family forms. The book also includes practical counseling strategies, focusing on the multicultural competencies approach.

Azara L. Santiago-Rivera, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor, and holds academic appointments in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Departments, and the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Division of Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York. She earned a doctorate in Counseling from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. She is a National Certified Counselor and has held leadership positions within the counseling profession. She served as Vice President of the Latino Interest Network of the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD), and President of Counselor’s for Social Justice (CSJ) within the American Counseling Association. Her publications and research interests include bilingual therapy, health and the environment, and stress and coping. She has presented on these topics at major conferences, and published in such journals as the Journal of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, and the Journal of Counseling and Development, including book chapters. 

Patricia Arredondo, Ed.D, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Psychology in Education at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. She earned a doctorate in Counseling Psychology at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. She is a licensed psychologist and began her professional career as a teacher. She has held leadership positions within the counseling field and is renowned for her contributions in the development of multicultural counseling competencies with such publications as the

" Operationalization of the multicultural counseling competencies" (with P., Toporek, R., Brown, S.P, Jones, J., Locke, D.C., Sanchez, J., and Stadler, H) appearing in the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. Dr. Arredondo’s research interests and publications include managing diversity in the workplace, racism, Latino/Hispanic health issues, gender issues, and the impact of migration on psychological health. She has authored several books and has written articles for Business Week, Latina Magazine, and Counseling Today. Dr. Arredondo has served in numerous leadership positions including President of the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) of the American Counseling Association, and President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Minority Issues, Division 45 of the American Psychological Association. 

Maritza Gallardo-Cooper obtained a BA from the University of Puerto Rico, an MA from the University of Houston, and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida. She is a school psychologist and marriage family therapist with over twenty-five years experience as a clinician in the private sector practicing in Texas, Puerto Rico, and Florida. In addition, Dr. Gallardo-Cooper has supervised, developed, and directed a variety of mental health treatment programs in Florida. Currently, she is the program director of an outpatient clinic for a large consortium in Florida, a position she has held for the past twelve years. She was a member of the Hispanic Task Force in the 1978 President’s Commission of Mental Health and has been involved in numerous professional training programs al the local, state and national level in areas such as child and family therapy, marital interventions, Latino psychology, and organizational development. Dr. Gallardo-Cooper’s research interests focus on brief therapy models, treatment outcomes, biculturalism and bilingual therapy.