Spirituality and Religion as a Resilience Factor and

Healing Practice in the Latino Community

Saturday, April 9, 2016 from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm at William James College

Sponsors: Lucero Latino Mental Health Program and the Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health at William James College

Program Director: Mari Carmen Bennasar, PsyD

Keynote Speaker: Amaro Laria, PhD

The Annual Conference on Latino Mental Health brings together practitioners, researchers, educators, public health officials, faith-based and spiritual leaders, community advocates, and policymakers whose current work can inform the development of a comprehensive, community-based, and culturally-oriented mental health agenda for Latino communities.

The primary aim of this year’s conference is to provide an intellectually stimulating forum for attendees to share knowledge that will lead to a better understanding and conceptualization of concerns and vulnerabilities of individuals of Latino backgrounds. This year we will focus on the relationship and the impact of spirituality and religion in the mental health of Latinos in the United States. We will explore diverse religious and spiritual believes and practices among Latinos, including recognizing common stereotypes.   Spirituality is a concept that has been receiving increased attention in nursing, psychological, sociological, and healthcare research during the past several decades. Spirituality and religious coping are salient factors in maintaining health and longevity, in well-being during chronic and terminal illnesses, in recovery from traumatic stress, and in positive coping during bereavement.  

Learning objectives:

• Discuss spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, and their influence on psychosocial well-being
• Identify some of the specific functions that religion and spirituality serve in promoting the mental health of many Latinos
• Discuss culturally-sensitive treatment interventions that incorporate spiritual/religious beliefs and practices
• Describe alternative approaches to healing and symptom management in the Latino community

Describe demographic information about some of the diverse religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of many Latinos

Examine common negative stereotypes held in the mainstream society with regard to the role of religion and spirituality among Latinos

Program Code: LMHP16

6 CE Credits

Fee: $135 (includes lunch)

Mari Carmen Bennasar, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist with psychodynamic background and specialty training and experience in Behavioral Medicine. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic to Spaniard immigrants, she moved to the United States in 1986. Dr. Bennasar has an equivalent to a MA degree (Licenciatura) from D.R. and was granted a PsyD degree by Nova Southeastern University in 1993. Dr. Bennasar interests include a variety of populations and settings such as working with children and adults with issues of complex trauma, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse; psychological testing; disaster mental health; and student training, supervision and mentoring. Dr. Bennasar is actively involved with the American Psychological Association (member of Division 45/ diversity issues and Division 35/ women's issues), the National Latino Psychological Association and is a working member of CRSPPP (Committee for the Review of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional psychology). Dr. Bennasar was the Associate Director of the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology at Boston University Medical School for 14 years, and has been in private practice in Southborough, MA for 20 years. Dr. Bennasar is the MSPP Associate Director of Field of Education for the PsyD program and is the Director of the Lucero Latino Mental Health Program.

Amaro Laria, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of professional experience. His main areas of expertise include: culture and mental health, integrative psychotherapy, and behavioral medicine. He is the co-founder and training director of Boston Behavioral Medicine, an integrative behavioral health practice in Brookline, MA that provides professional services as well as clinical training to graduate students and licensed mental health clinicians. Dr. Laria holds a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance. His previous academic affiliations include: Clark University, UMass Boston, and William James College (WJC; formerly Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology). While at WJC he helped found the Latino Mental Health Program, which he directed for four years. Dr. Laria obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at University of Massachusetts Boston in 1997. He was a NIMH post-doctoral research fellow in the Social Medicine Department at Harvard Medical School. He has conducted research and published in the areas of culture and mental health, Latino mental health, and trauma and dissociation. He served as advisor on cultural issues to the DSM-5 workgroup on anxiety disorders. Some of his recent publications include: The Role of Religion & Spirituality among Latinos (in Salman Akhtar’s The American Latino: Psychodynamic Perspectives on Culture & Mental Health Issues; Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), Latino Patients (in R. Lim’s Clinical Manual of Cultural Psychiatry, 2nd ed; American Psychiatric Publishing, 2014), and Bridging Cultural Gaps: The Influence of Cultural & Socioeconomic Factors in the Medical Encounter (in Novack, Locke, & Gramlich: Behavioral & Social Science in Medicine: Principles & Practice of Biopsychosocial Care; Springer, in press).