About the session

Although chronic pain impacts around 100 million Americans annually, significant disparities exist in the treatment of pain among various ethnic groups, including Hispanic Americans. The first aim of this program will summarize relevant client, provider, and systemic factors that potentially impact Hispanic clients’ engagement and completion of treatment, specifically Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain.

This intermediate level course will help attendees conceptualize a hypothetical CBT-CP case using a biopsychosocial framework most relevant to Hispanic clients.

Learning Objectives

1. List the barriers that impact Hispanics’ access to and completion of chronic pain treatment.

2. Describe pain perception in Hispanic clients as compared to other ethnicities.

3. Use a relevant biopsychosocial framework to conceptualize Hispanics’ treatment of chronic pain.

Instructor

Mirna Mejia, Ph.D. is a multi-state licensed psychologist specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and Chronic Pain using evidence-based therapies. Dr. Mejia has trained and supervised psychology practicum students and directed the psychology practicum training at the Central Texas VA Health Care System. Additionally, Dr. Mejia has led treatment groups focused on chronic health conditions, including chronic pain and insomnia amongst Hispanic clients. Dr. Mejia also has conducted therapy sessions primarily in Spanish with Caribbean-identified Hispanics.

About the session

Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be effective in treating anxiety and depression (Hofmann & Gomez, 2017) and have even seen a growth in use and in publications (Zhang et al., 2021). However, it is unclear whether those implementing mindfulness-based interventions are culturally responsive that is to: a) differentiate between Buddhism’s Right Mindfulness vs secular Mindfulness; b) understanding and adapting mindfulness-based interventions to meet the needs of populations of color being treated; and c) recognizing potential harms especially when working with populations of color. This program will list important cultural and ethical considerations when developing and implementing mindfulness-based interventions.

This intermediate level course will help attendees identify cultural considerations when developing and implementing mindfulness-based interventions.

Learning Objectives

1. Plan culturally responsive Mindfulness-Based Interventions.

2. Compare Buddhism's Right Mindfulness vs secular mindfulness.

3. Identify potential risks and harms when teaching Mindfulness-Based Interventions when working with populations of color.

Instructor

Jack Tsan, Ph.D. is the Program Director at The Multicultural Counseling Institute and Clinical Operations Director at the Anxiety Treatment Center of Austin. He is a licensed psychologist who specializes in the treatment of Anxiety and OCD and has a specialty focus on East and South Asian clients. Dr. Tsan’s clinical practice is grounded in evidence-based and culturally informed approaches. He has led mindfulness groups for clients with anxiety and has conducted workshops on mindfulness as well as cultural considerations in CBT treatment.