GSEP Announces The Official Name Change Of The MA In Clinical Psychology MFT Latinas/os Program

The former Graduate School of Education and Psychology Latina/o Program is officially changing its program name to Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy with Latinx Communities at Aliento, The Center for Latinx Communities. When asked about the reasoning for the change, Dr. Gallardo stated,

"The Graduate School of Education and Psychology will replace the term “Latino” and Latina” with “Latinx” when referring to individuals of Latin American descent. From 2021 we first changed the Aliento Center to include Latinx. We are pleased to announce our new program name to the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy with Latinx Communities, which allows us to employ the gender-inclusive term “Latinx.” 

The evolution of the Spanish language, as exemplified by the term Latinx, demonstrates the processes in which language changes to represent social and cultural shifts. This “linguistic revolution” highlights the driving need to develop and incorporate language that encompasses all the intersecting identities of all Latin American descendants. In the past decade, we’ve seen cultural shifts to bring awareness to the rights of transgender and non-binary communities. For Spanish-speaking communities, this meant confronting the colonial, gendered foundations of the language and recreating the language to serve the needs of our communities. The term Latinx provides Spanish speakers with gender-neutral language that represents all identities that encompass Latinx communities. Furthermore, the term provides an opportunity for open discussion with those in our communities who do not understand the term and allows for individuals to challenge the gender binary within the context of their cultural and ethnic identity."

- Dr. Gallardo, Program Director

Learn more about our Aliento Center's Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) degree program.