Abstract
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, our partners in a Central American immigrant enclave reported an increasing need to support parents and children whose mental health was negatively impacted by the confluence of underlying systemic stressors and traumatic experiences. Using our existing family-centered participatory action research (FCPAR; Letiecq, Vesely, et al., 2022) approach and guided by the transcreation model (Nápoles & Stewart, 2018), we co-constructed a mental health intervention in partnership with community members, via our community advisory board (CAB). Essential to this process was building the intervention with the community, ensuring that it was culturally and contextually grounded to address the unique lived experiences, needs, and strengths of the community. Using the lenses of intersectional trauma and resilience theories (Ezell et al., 2021; Goodman et al., 2017) and relational cultural theory (RCT; Comstock et al., 2008), we worked with the CAB to integrate local information with extant literature; we also co-developed methods and processes for intervention delivery and evaluation. Key findings included the benefits and limitations of working in direct relationship with community members and the critical importance of flexibility. We offer recommendations for engaging in meaningful and impactful intervention co-creation, to disrupt oppression and marginalization through power sharing and attention to positionality and the sociopolitical context.
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Recommended Citation
Goodman, R., Vesely, C. K., Tohara Nakamatsu, M., Stone, V., Quintana, V., & Letiecq, B. (2026). Padres Ayudando a Padres: Co-constructing a Family-Centered Mental Health Intervention of, by, and for Central American Immigrant Parents. Trauma Counseling and Resilience, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.33470/2997-7088.1095