Fear of Deportation: Triggering anxiety and depression in the Latinx population

Anxiety and depression has a higher prevalence among the Latinx population especially with the fear of deportation. Untreated symptoms of anxiety and depression within the Latinx community can lead to suicide attempts. With community support and resources, along with interventions, the Latinx population can achieve a higher resilient level. Interventions that will be discussed are DBT, TF-CBT, and mindfulness meditation.

Guest Speaker: Olga Lopez-Rangel MSW, LSWAIC

Olga is a Latinx from Texas. She enjoys working with people of all races, ethnicities and cultures, and she is passionate in advocating for social justice issues. She believes that when transgressions occur and cause trauma, one should have a place to find safety, allyship and
advocacy. She has Dyslexia and HSP (Highly Sensitive Personality), which have presented challenges in her life, but was able to grow from them and learn to use them as the gifts that they are. For example, being highly sensitive enables her to be an excellent empathetic listener, and her dyslexia sometimes allows her to see possibilities for growth that others might not. When working with clients she uses her innate skills to understand the problems they are facing and find avenues to improve their lives and relationships.

She works with a wide range of clients, including younger children, adolescents, adults and couples, addressing issues such as mood disorders, anxiety, depression, trauma, oppression, loss and grief. Her approach to therapy is using peer reviewed and evidenced-based
techniques. She uses interventions such as CBT, DBT, TF-CBT, play therapy, meditation, mindfulness and group therapy.