Kimochis Outreach Program, Ivelisse Torres-Fernandez, Ph.D.

This initiative targets Pre-K-3 populations with the goal of promoting Social Emotional Learning and resilience in young children. The focus of the program is to provide training and consultation to teachers and mental health professionals on the use of the Kimochis program.

Cruzando Fronteras Project, Ivelisse Torres-Fernandez, Ph.D.

Cruzando Fronteras is an outreach project developed to address the emotional consequences of the continuous exposure to violence in the US-Mexico border area through the use of culturally relevant interventions. The goal of the project is twofold; first, to address trauma and grief via the implementation of a curriculum geared to promote social emotional learning and resilience; secondly, to provide a safe space for children to share and process their stories via the use of narrative approaches and story books. There are two important components to this program: teacher training (training teachers in trauma-based skills, SEL, and resilience), and program implementation (semester long curriculum geared toward promotion of coping strategies via the use of narrative approaches and SEL). We provide much needed trauma-informed care training to educators and mental health professionals on both sides of the border.