Trauma-Informed Bilingual Counselor Education: Factors to Guide Professional Mental Health Training with Spanish-Speaking Students

Latine immigrants confront various forms of violence that increases their risk for traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. There is a need to advance the training of counselors who can work with Spanish-speaking clients exposed to trauma. The goal of this study was to articulate a literature-based conceptualization of trauma-informed bilingual counselor education. The results of a content analysis facilitated a synthesis of the relevant scholarship that highlighted four main facets: (i) integrative translanguage pedagogy, (ii) immigrant trauma exposure and reaction, (iii) culturally responsive socioemotional interventions, and (iv) bilingual supervisory alliance. These factors can help guide professional graduate training. Implications are discussed related to curricular content, linguistic proficiency, and clinical supervision. Limitations and future scholarship are also discussed.