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Latinx-Centered Psychodynamic Consultation Group

program overview

A Culturally Grounded Psychodynamic Consultation Community

The Latinx-Centered Psychodynamic Consultation Group is a virtual clinical consultation program designed specifically for Latinx therapists and mental health professionals. Meeting once per month over nine sessions, the group provides a dedicated space to discuss live clinical material, engage with contemporary psychodynamic literature, and build a steady peer network — all within a culturally grounded framework that centers the unique experiences and strengths of Latinx clinicians. Led by Dr. Merari Fernandez, PhD, LCSW, and Dr. Kelly G. Arteaga, PsyD, the program is housed within ICSW’s Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series and offers 18 continuing education credits for Illinois-licensed professionals. Participants from prior cohorts are encouraged to re-enroll for subsequent cycles, building on the clinical relationships and professional community established in earlier sessions.

Core Value

What Participants Gain

Participants develop deeper psychodynamic clinical skills within a culturally affirming consultation community — strengthening their ability to conceptualize and intervene with clients while building a lasting professional network of Latinx clinicians.

Clinical Consultation

Discuss live clinical material in a supportive, culturally affirming small group — gaining new perspectives on your work with clients and deepening psychodynamic case conceptualization.

Cultural Grounding

Practice within a space that centers Latinx identity, bilingual clinical work, and the unique strengths and challenges Latinx therapists bring to psychodynamic practice.

Professional Community

Build a steady peer network over 9 months of monthly consultation — the kind of sustained professional relationships that one-time workshops cannot create.
Alumni Stories

What Our Graduates Say

World-Class Faculty

Program Quick Facts

Format
Fully virtual via Zoom.
Start
September 2026
Scholarships
Tution
$495

Questions?

Please direct questions about the application process to admissions@icsw.edu

For eligibility questions, contact Dr. Carla Leone at cleone@icsw.edu or call (847) 328-3695

Milestones

9-Session Program Structure

The consultation group meets once per month over nine sessions, combining live clinical case discussion with contemporary psychodynamic literature engagement in each meeting.

Pillar I

Live Clinical Consultation

Participants bring real clinical material for group discussion, gaining immediate feedback and new perspectives on their psychodynamic work with clients.
Pillar II

Psychodynamic Literature

Engagement with contemporary psychodynamic literature grounds the consultation in current theory and expands the conceptual toolkit available to participants.
Pillar III

Cultural Centering

The group is designed by and for Latinx clinicians, centering cultural identity, bilingual practice, and the lived professional experiences of Latinx therapists.
Pillar IV

Peer Community

Nine months of monthly meetings build sustained professional relationships — a consultation community that participants can return to through re-enrollment in subsequent cycles.
Competencies

Participant Learning Outcomes

Apply psychodynamic concepts to clinical case material within a culturally responsive framework that centers Latinx identity and experience.
Engage contemporary psychodynamic literature and connect it to their clinical practice with diverse client populations.
Conceptualize clinical cases using psychodynamic formulation, integrating cultural context and the therapeutic relationship.
Learn how immigration, race, class, political, economic and sociocultural factors contributed to their patients’ suffering.
Identify their own racial biases and how these biases impact their work with their patients.
Describe the relevance of psychodynamic thinking when discussing immigration, race, class, political, economic and sociocultural factors.
Pedagogy

Teaching Format and Program Components

Monthly consultation session

120-minute virtual group session via Zoom, combining clinical case presentation, peer discussion, and literature engagement.

Case presentation format

Participants present live clinical material for group consultation. Therapists rotate so that each participant presents a case. The therapist chooses a client who is clinically appropriate to present, based on their clinical judgement, and sends the clinical material a week before the meeting following a format shared with the group at the beginning of the cycle.

Literature component

Contemporary psychodynamic readings integrated into each session. Readings are assigned in advance and shared once a participant is enrolled in the group.

Facilitation

Co-led by Dr. Merari Fernandez, PhD, LCSW, and Dr. Kelly G. Arteaga, PsyD, providing expert psychodynamic guidance within a culturally affirming framework.

Continuing education

18 CE credits approved for Illinois-licensed social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists upon completion of all 9 sessions.

Virtual platform

All sessions conducted via Zoom, making the program accessible to clinicians regardless of location.
overview

Who Should Enroll

Program Dates
Most recent cohort: September 2026 to May 2027. Session dates: Sept 2, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2, Jan 6, Feb 3, Mar 3, Apr 7, May 5
Format
Fully virtual via Zoom.
Schedule
One Wednesday per month, 3:00–5:00 PM CST (9 sessions total).
Continuing Education
18 continuing education credits for Illinois-licensed social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists.
Requirements

Who Should Enroll

1

Latinx Clinicians

Latinx therapists, clinical social workers, psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists seeking culturally affirming psychodynamic consultation.
2

Licensed Practitioners

Licensed clinicians interested in deepening psychodynamic practice through peer case discussion and contemporary literature engagement.
3

Peer Network Builders

Clinicians who want to build a professional peer network with other Latinx mental health professionals.
4

Returning Participants

Returning participants from prior cohorts seeking continued consultation and community. Those with one-year minimum experience providing psychotherapy.

Program Quick Facts

$495Total
$495 for all 9 sessions.
Payment plans available
Scholarship priority programs

Application Process

Rolling Admissions Policy
Participants from prior cohorts are encouraged to re-enroll for subsequent cycles, deepening clinical relationships and building on prior learning.

Questions?

Please direct questions about the application process to admissions@icsw.edu

For eligibility questions, contact Dr. Carla Leone at cleone@icsw.edu or call (847) 328-3695

Faculty

Faculty & Leadership

Merari Fernandez

Faculty
Merari E. Fernandez Castro, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Evanston. Throughout her work at various community agencies…
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Adjunct Clinical Consultants

All consultants are very experienced couple therapists and clinical supervisors who are offering their time at a reduced rate to support the mission of this program.All consultants are very experienced couple therapists and clinical supervisors who are offering their time at a reduced rate to support the mission of this program.