In an effort to more inclusively serve students, AIC's Dexter Counseling Center is now offering bilingual counseling. Javier Vargas, MA, who speaks both Spanish and English, comes to the College with clinical experience providing therapy with college-age students, families, and children. Those wishing to book an appointment with Vargas may schedule one through the myAIC patient portal. Javier has a passion for helping students going through different challenges that they are facing in life, creating a friendly environment that facilitates exploration. He brings a personalized working theory for each person, the focus of his practice is on solution-focused approaches, narrative therapy techniques, cognitive-behavioral, and emotionally focused. He is also passionate about working with the Latinx/Hispanic community, making counseling culturally sensitive to the values of the community’s culture, working alongside them on the dimensions of personal identity that are influenced by origin. AIC helps students maintain their emotional well-being in order to achieve their educational goals, providing a safe, confidential environment where they can work to gain personal healing and growth. Counseling is available in Spanish during the fall semester.
Javier offers a statement about this new service for AIC's Spanish-speaking community:
Javier es un consejero clínico bilingüe (español/inglés); le apasiona ayudar a los estudiantes a superar los diferentes desafíos que enfrentan en la vida, creando un ambiente amigable que facilita la exploración. Aporta una teoría de trabajo personalizada para cada persona, el foco de su práctica está en enfoques centrados en soluciones, técnicas de terapia narrativa, cognitiva-conductual y enfocada emocionalmente. Le apasiona trabajar con la comunidad latinx/hispana, haciendo que la consejería sea culturalmente sensible a los valores de la cultura de la comunidad, trabajando junto con ellos en las dimensiones de la identidad personal que están influenciadas por el origen. Los servicios de consejería en AIC ayudan a los estudiantes a mantener su bienestar emocional para lograr sus objetivos educativos, proporcionándoles un entorno seguro y confidencial para obtener sanidad y crecimiento personal. Consejería está disponible en español durante el semestre de otoño.