This event will be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in Spanish.
Trauma from disasters, conflict and violence can result in serious physical and psychological reactions such as grief, loss anxiety and fear. Seeking services to attend to these is essential. For Latinos experiencing reactions to disaster, conflict and violence; attention to cultural variables, and their connection to the understanding and experience of trauma is key.
This panel will discuss practical, trauma-informed approaches for supporting individuals and communities affected by disasters, conflict, and violence, with emphasis on culturally responsive care tailored for Latino populations. It will include evidence-based strategies to provide compassionate support and improve crisis response effectiveness for Latino survivors.
Learning objectives:
1. Identifying practical trauma-informed care strategies that acknowledge the unique cultural, linguistic, and contextual needs of Latino survivors of traumatic events.
2. Highlighting culturally responsive practices, such as understanding cultural expressions of distress, building trust, and mitigating barriers like stigma, language, and access issues.
3. Connecting providers with tools and frameworks to enhance their ability to support survivors of disaster, violence, and conflict in clinical or community settings.
Speakers:
Presenter: Rocio Chang, Psy.D.
Rocio Chang is a clinical, bilingual psychologist specializing in treating traumatic stress, particularly among vulnerable communities and people impacted by relocated experiences. She received her associate degree in liberal arts from Capital Community College, her undergraduate degree from Trinity College, and her master’s and Psy. D. degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Hartford.
She completed her predoctoral internship at the Brightside School Street Counseling Institute in Springfield, Massachusetts, and a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Psychology at UConn Health. In 2015, Rocio joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry in the Child and Adolescent Division. Her roles within the Psychiatry Department are clinical, educational, and research.
Dr. Chang provides therapy using evidence-based models with cultural adaptations for adults and children at the Latino Clinic and the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic. She also treats medical, dental, and graduate students at the Student Behavioral Clinic. In 2021, she developed the first Latino mental health clinic at the Adult Psychiatric Outpatient Services Clinic. Since then, Rocio has continued to see Latino, monolingual adults at UConn Health Partners in West Hartford, a more convenient location for Latino patients.
Rocio is actively involved in community and clinical research. Since 2016, she has been a leader in two national training and technical assistance centers within the Department, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Since 2022, she has served as the Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator for the Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice and the Center for Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorder. She is currently a co-investigator on three NIH grants focused on underserved populations.
Presenter: Yari M. Marrero, Ed.D
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey and a Master of Health Sciences in Substance misuse Counseling from Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC), where she has worked for the past 20 years. She began her professional career as a research assistant on a clinical research project in Strategic Brief Therapy, sponsored by the University of Miami, the Clinical Trial Network, and SAMHSA.
Throughout her career at the Institute of Research and Services in Addiction (IRESA), she has participated as a presenter in multiple projects in the areas of addictions and trauma, as well as in a Leadership and Professional Development Institute. She also served as a Professional Counselor and Coordinator of the Peer Mentoring Program at UCC.
Additionally, she coordinated an outpatient treatment services project for women with substance use disorders and traumatic experiences, sponsored by SAMHSA. She combines her professional role with teaching and is a member of the UCC faculty as a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Family Medicine.
She completed her doctoral degree at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus, within the Faculty of Education, with a concentration in Counseling. Currently, she serves as the Associate Dean of Licensing and Accreditation at the institution that once welcomed her as a student, where she collaborates in efforts related to assessment, institutional effectiveness, licensing, and accreditation.