Psychology and Spanish Elective Opportunity (PaSEO) Perú

We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2026 PASEO–Perú Spanish for Mental Health Immersion Program. The 2026 cohort includes expanded service-learning opportunities, updated culturally grounded training materials, and deeper integration with our community partners in Northern Perú.

PaSEO Perú

A Spanish immersion program with a service-learning component. The program unites students and professionals committed to improving the quality of mental health services for Spanish speakers in the U.S.

SUMMER 2026 PROGRAM DATES:
JUNE 13th — JULY 25th

What is our program?

PASEO’s linguistic and cultural development program provides specialized language and culture training for students and professionals in psychology and related fields. The program is designed to help individuals in the mental health field strengthen their linguistic and clinical skills to better service Latinx populations in the United States and globally, while also providing psychoeducational and mental health prevention services to children and families in low-resource regions of Peru who might not otherwise be able to access such services.

PASEO works in collaboration with local non-profits and educational centers in Northern Peru and in the Peruvian highlands, as well as with local language teachers and mental health professionals, in an attempt to offer a sustainable, responsible, and culturally-sensitive immersion and practicum experience.

All students in the PaSEO Program - Perú participate in the following:

Specialized training in Spanish for mental health
Didactic treatment seminars on motivational interviewing
Didactic seminars on the psychological care system in Peru and delivering mental health in low-resource settings—skills that are directly transferable to low-resource Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S.
Skill practice with Peruvian conversation partners with backgrounds in social work, education, or mental health
Service learning through engagement in psychosocial and educational activities in the community.

Program Goals:

Help students build Spanish language skills for use in mental health settings, with a goal on building competence in the following areas:
- Utilizing skills in initial sessions to reduce mental health stigma, build rapport, and increase the likelihood that service users return to care
- Conducting intake interviews, diagnostic evaluations, and clinical histories
- Engaging in basic helping skills (e.g. reflective listening, open questions, validating)
- Integrate key skills of motivational interviewing to enhance client engagement and retention
- Providing psychoeducation to clients and their family members about mental health and mental illness and the process/purpose of therapy to increase engagement and transparency
- Conducting risk assessments related to suicidality and situations of crisis, and engaging in appropriate brief intervention or triage
- Carrying out basic therapy skills training for clients (e.g. relaxation, grounding skills, mindfulness, behavioral activation, emotion regulation, cognitive restructuring)
Increase knowledge and competencies in working with Latinx youth and families, with a focus on:
- Conducting ethnocultural mental health assessments to develop cultural case formulations, improve diagnostic accuracy, and develop collaborative treatment plans
- Appreciating the importance of language in the assessment and treatment process from a multifaceted perspective, including such topics as language synchronicity, second language acquisition, and use of code-switching as a therapeutic tool
- Building participants’ knowledge of key treatment considerations for working with Latinx families, with a focus on Peruvian culture as a framework for understanding mental health barriers and effective treatment strategies
- Addressing stigma, marginalization, and discrimination against individuals with mental illness within their communities to increase the acceptability of mental health care
- Methods for culturally adapting treatments to fit the needs of a given community better
“Build a connection with other individuals serving the Spanish-speaking community, reducing personal and/or professional isolation.”
Often trainees and clinicians providing services in Spanish might be the only person at their practicum or job site with this skill, and/or might experience high caseloads and long waitlists. They might be asked to translate their own forms and tools or provide services outside of their boundaries of competence. In the LCDP, we strive to connect you with others facing similar challenges so that solutions can be shared, reflection can take place, and connection can be fostered.

Apply

“This is a huge learning experience of learning how to flex and flow. It’s important that while we are here to learn, it is just as important to be aware that we are also here to serve and integrate with the community.”

— 2018 ALUMNI