Cafecito entre nos… Essential Knowledge for Providers: La CLAve as a Psychoeducational Tool to Address Stigma, Identify Symptoms of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Reduce Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) among H/L. | ET 1:00pm

✨ Save the date for our new session: Cafecito entre Nos… Meet the Developer

For persons with first episodes of psychosis, longer Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP) is associated with worse long-term functioning-symptoms, remission, and social functioning and less treatment benefit among Latinos, less use of mental health services, stigma and lower levels of health literacy makes the population vulnerable for DUP. La CLAve is a psychoeducational program developed with the goal of increasing Spanish-speaking persons’ literacy of psychosis. This program uses a mnemonic device; La CLAve (The Clue), as well as popular cultural icons derived from music, art, and videos to describe Serious Mental Illness (SMI) symptoms, increase knowledge of psychosis, efficacy beliefs that one can identify psychosis in others, attributions to mental illness, and professional help-seeking. The program is geared at community and family members to identify and facilitate mental health care for their relatives and community peers. This session will offer a unique opportunity for behavioral health providers to meet and have a dialogue with one of the developers of La CLAve, Dr. Steven López. The session will include information on the development of La CLAve, uses, benefits, and possible limitations.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the importance of health literacy in decreasing duration of untreated psychosis.
• Address challenges H/Ls may face in identification of Serious Mental Illness (SMI).
• Share information regarding the development and evaluation of the program.
• Identify potential benefits and limitations of La CLAve.

Guest Speaker: Steven López, Ph.D.

Steven Regeser López Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California. His most recent research focuses on reducing the duration of untreated psychosis among H/L with their first episode of a psychotic disorder by applying a community campaign called La CLAve. He has also developed a model of cultural competence (Shifting Cultural Lenses) and has trained over one thousand mental health professionals to use the model. For fifteen years, he directed a summer research training program in Mexico to promote collaborations between over one hundred US H/L students and Mexican mental health researchers. In all his efforts, he strives to promote a conversation about mental health, the role of culture, and effective care.