College of Science and Health
Spanish for Mental Healthcare Minor

Empower Your Career with Spanish for Mental Healthcare

The Minor in Spanish for Mental Healthcare enhances students’ preparation for careers in mental healthcare by developing their Spanish language proficiency and cultural competence. The program is designed to equip students to serve as interpreters in healthcare/mental healthcare facilities, to work as intercultural mediators in a variety of healthcare settings or pursue careers as mental health professionals who specialize in the care of Latino patients, especially Spanish-speaking LEP (Limited English Proficiency) patients. The minor thus complements major and minor programs in a wide variety of other University disciplines.

Students who declare a Spanish minor may not also declare the Medical Spanish minor or the Spanish for Mental Healthcare minor. 

In order to complete the minor, students in Spanish for Mental Healthcare must demonstrate Intermediate-Mid level proficiency or higher in spoken Spanish according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Students should arrange to take the oral proficiency exam during the semester prior to the semester in which they plan to graduate. This ACTFL oral proficiency exam is administered online for a modest fee. After taking the test, students receive a nationally recognized certificate of their oral Spanish proficiency from ACTFL. For information on the ACTFL online test, students should contact Dr. Rafael Iglesias at (630) 829-6268 or [email protected]. The ACTFL oral proficiency interview may be repeated for an additional fee until the required level of proficiency is demonstrated. Students minoring in Spanish for Mental Healthcare may not major or minor in Spanish or minor in Medical Spanish.