The AAMFT Research & Education Foundation sat down for a chat with J. Ruben Parra-Cardona, PhD, about the Foundation’s mission and the important work the Foundation will contribute to the marriage and family therapy profession in the future.
Thank you for taking a moment to speak with us, Dr. Parra-Cardona. Let’s start with something that AAMFT is very excited about, and something that is vitally important. We are all familiar now with the Foundation’s newest initiatives. What have you seen so far that you find exciting and promising?
That’s a great opening question! For me, the Foundation's new focus on research, in addition to the other initiatives, is extremely important for our field. Marriage and family therapy programs typically face this challenge of having small numbers of faculty members who are stretched out across multiple responsibilities. They are doing research, teaching, advising and shoulder other responsibilities. This can put our field at a disadvantage, especially when you compare us to other fields with larger faculty bodies, which have similar responsibilities. With the Foundation focusing on providing research support, in various forms, that gives us all a resource that has the potential to provide much needed collegial networking, in addition to infrastructure support for MFTs conducting research. Promoting research in our field is, without a doubt, critical and essential for our profession to keep generating knowledge and maintain relevance.
We definitely agree with that! But now, let’s turn toward your own professional needs, and your practice. How does the AAMFT Foundation bring value to you as a marriage and family therapist?
I believe that in order to remain relevant as a field, we must not only consume knowledge, but generate it, as well. Our profession may offer life-changing experiences for many families and couples, but the most disadvantaged populations in the U.S. still don’t have access to the best mental health interventions. The Foundation has the great potential to help MFTs—like me—who are committed to addressing health disparities. The Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) is already training the next generation of MFTs committed to serving these diverse populations. And that training of new professionals must go hand-in-hand with testing our methods of intervention, in ways that MFTs can reach out to the millions of people who continue to experience access barriers to high-quality mental healthcare.
What else about the AAMFT Foundation's mission appeals to you?
Again, I’m drawn back to mentioning the mission to support funding for research, as well as scholarship, and education—all are essential for the future of the field. Not only do MFTs have the responsibility to empirically demonstrate the impact of our clinical work, but we also carry the responsibility to demonstrate the most effective ways to offer a relevant way towards reducing widespread mental health disparities. Those disparities, unfortunately, continue to negatively impact millions of Americans.
You are a past recipient of the AAMFT Foundation’s Dissertation Award. Can you share how receiving that award helped you in your career?
First, let me say it was an honor to receive that award. My dissertation research focused on the life experiences of teen fathers and the impact of a parenting program adapted for them. The award became tangible, supportive evidence of the ways in which our clinical practice and research can uniquely impact populations—those for whom limited mental health resources exist.
We have a strong understanding of why you support the Foundation, but what would you say to your fellow MFTs about how important the work of the Foundation is and why they should support it?
We need to remain a vibrant and generative profession! In addition to a commitment to excellence in practice, our field must continuously reinvent itself to effectively address the challenges that we face in our profession and our society.
Please consider making a contribution to the Foundation today!
Ruben Parra-Cardona, PhD, is an associate professor in the program of couple and family therapy at Michigan State University and a recipient of the AAMFT Foundation’s Dissertation Award. Parra-Cardona says that receiving this grant allowed him to focus his research on parenting with Latino populations. He was able to establish a federally funded program with grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute On Drug Abuse to conduct research with underserved Latino populations. His clinical experience has included the provision of services to street children engaged in drug trafficking and prostitution, victims of sexual abuse and violence, adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system, and adult federal probationers convicted for drug trafficking.
Professional Resources
Parra-Cardona, J. R., Lopez Zerón, G., Domenech Rodríguez, M., Escobar-Chew, A. R., Whitehead, M., Sullivan, C., & Bernal, G. (2015). A balancing act: Integrating evidence-based knowledge and cultural relevance in a program of prevention parenting research with Latino/a immigrants. Family Process. Advanced online publication. doi: 10.1111/famp.12190
Parra-Cardona, J. R., Aguilar, E., Wieling, E., Domenech Rodríguez, M., & Fitzgerald, H. (2015). Closing the gap between two countries: Feasibility of dissemination of an evidence-based parenting intervention in México. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41, 465-481. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12098
Parra-Cardona, J. R., Domenech Rodríguez, M., Forgatch, M.S., Sullivan, C., Bybee, D., Tams, L., Holtrop, K., Escobar-Chew, A.R., Bernal, G., & Dates, B. (2012). Culturally adapting an evidence-based parenting intervention for Latino immigrants: The need to integrate fidelity and cultural relevance. Family Process, 51, 56-72. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01386.x
Parra-Cardona, J. R., Wampler, R. S., & Sharp, E. (2006). “Wanting to be a good father”: Experiences of adolescent fathers of Mexican descent in a teen fathers program. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 32, 215-232.
Parra-Cardona, J. R., Sharp, E., & Wampler, R. S. (2008). “Changing for my kid”: Fatherhood experiences of Mexican-origin teen fathers involved in the justice system. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 34, 369-387.