Spanish Language Development Curriculum

PSY 672 Spanish Language and Culture: Beginning Conversations and Understanding Linguistic Context (3 units)

Students will learn Spanish vocabulary and conversational skills needed for working in mental health settings and to be involved in the communities where they live and work. The focus is on the proficiency required for reducing language and cultural barriers for Spanish-dominant populations. The course will be taught in English and Spanish. No fluency in Spanish is required. This course is limited to students enrolled in the MACLP Latinx Emphasis (Evening Format) only. 

PSY 672A Spanish Language and Culture: Beginning Conversations and Understanding Linguistic Context (3 units)

This is a continuation course for PSY 672. Students will continue to learn Spanish vocabulary and conversational skills needed for working in mental health settings and continue to be involved in the communities where they live and work, building on what they started in PSY 672. The focus is on the proficiency required for reducing language and cultural barriers for Spanishdominant populations. The course will be taught in English and Spanish. No fluency in Spanish is required. This course is limited to students enrolled in the MACLP Latinx Emphasis (Evening Format) only. Students must take PSY 672 and 672A over a period of two terms. Students also have the option to enroll in this course internationally during the summer immersion program in a Latin American country. Prerequisite: Latinx Emphasis Program: PSY 672.

PSY 673 Spanish Language and Culture in Counseling Latinx: Intermediate/Advanced (3 units)

Students will learn Spanish vocabulary and conversational skills needed for working in mental health settings. The focus is on the proficiency required for conducting psychotherapy and psychological assessments with a variety of Spanish-dominant populations and providing professional and community-based presentations in Spanish. The course will be taught in Spanish, and all assignments must be completed in Spanish. Conversational fluency in Spanish is required. This course is limited to students enrolled in the MACLP Latinx Emphasis (Evening Format) only. 

PSY 673A Spanish Language and Culture in Counseling Latinx: Intermediate/Advanced (3)

This is a continuation course for PSY 673. Students will continue to learn Spanish vocabulary and Spanish therapeutic skills needed for working in mental health settings. The focus is on the proficiency required for conducting psychotherapy and psychological assessments with a variety of Spanish-dominant populations and providing professional and community based presentations in Spanish. The course will be taught in Spanish, and all assignments must be completed in Spanish. Conversational fluency in Spanish is required. This course is limited to students enrolled in the MACLP Latinx Emphasis (Evening Format) only. Students must take PSY 673 and 673A over a period of two terms. Students also have the option to enroll in this course internationally during the summer immersion program in a Latin American country. Prerequisite: Latinx Emphasis Program: PSY 673.

The Spanish language courses are not intended to be language acquisition courses, but rather designed to facilitate students' understanding of the Spanish language within a mental health context. For example, students who have limited, or no, Spanish abilities learn a basic conversational mental health vocabulary, while students who are advanced in their Spanish language abilities learn more advanced psychological theories and techniques. For student just learning Spanish these courses not designed to teach the linguistic competencies needed to provide therapy in Spanish, but rather to lay a foundation by which students can continue to build on through additional language classes, immersion experiences and practice.