Building Resilience Through Supportive Communities

The anxieties and uncertainties that so many of us have felt this year have hit immigrant communities especially hard. In this week’s episode of Woman Worriers, host Elizabeth Cush and her guest, Carmen Román, talk about supporting and building resilience in the LatinX community—with insights that can apply to all of us.

Quotes:

“My parents were the listeners of the community.” — Carmen Román

“Choosing a psychologist is like choosing a good, comfortable pair of shoes, because you are going to walk in the path of growth so you want that comfortable company.” — Carmen Román 

“Choosing a psychologist is like choosing a good, comfortable pair of shoes.” — Carmen Román

“What I am seeing with my clients is a lot of uncertainty.” — Carmen Román

“The Latino community is really struggling.” — Carmen Román

“It really took us all by surprise to be feeling that unsafe in this country.” — Carmen Román

“This year has been hitting us hard—all of us.” — Carmen Román

“It’s a time to feel companionship. Podcasts give you that companionship.” — Carmen Román

“Another resource that is very valuable in this time is the application Insight Timer.” — Carmen Román

A pandemic that disproportionately affects Hispanic and Black communities… A surge of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States… Political turmoil… Economic pressures… And wildfires raging through California. To say it has been a challenging year doesn’t even come close. And yet the members of at least one Spanish-speaking support group have faced the year with gratitude and joy. This week, Woman Worriers podcast host Elizabeth Cush, LGPC, a licensed professional therapist and founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., welcomes the facilitator of that group, Carmen Román, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist licensed in California and Mexico. They talk about the anxieties facing the LatinX communities, and Román shares her insights and observations about how therapy and peer support builds the kind of resilience that enables individuals to survive and thrive while facing adversity.

Listen and learn:

• How a casual invitation led to a life-changing decision for a college applicant
• The importance of listening in a community
• What to look for in a therapist
• Why naturalized citizens are feeling anxiety similar to undocumented immigrants
• The increased stressors that service workers face
• How people who had two years of therapy responded to participating in a group that formed when the pandemic lock-downs began—and how their experience differed from individuals who had less time in therapy
• What kinds of activities the group engaged in and what opportunities for communication they explored
• How group members learned to obtain services, even when faced with challenges
• How gratitude and a sense of perspective support resilience
• How traumatized individuals who had only had some therapy responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic
• The surprising observations that Román made about technology use and health and how they differed among groups
• How learning what others are experiencing can help us feel grateful, even when we’re in a difficult situation
• Some concrete ways to build resilience
• What transference of knowledge is and how it can help you move forward
• Why podcasts can be so helpful right now
• Where to find mental health resources in English and Spanish
• W

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