Dr Martha Bernal is a remarkable Mexican-American woman who was the first Latina to earn a doctoral degree in psychology in the United States. The story of how she overcame the hardships of a separated lifestyle in Texas as a child is extremely inspiring in its own right.
Personal Life and Academia of Dr Martha Bernal
As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Dr Martha was born in San Antonio on April 13, 1931, then later moved to El Paso. Even in her early years, things were difficult. People faced discrimination because they were not allowed to speak their native languages, and schools were segregated as well. Despite these hardships, Bernal managed to do well in school.
After her Bachelor of Arts from Texas Western College, now called the University of Texas at El Paso, Dr Martha went on to earn a Master’s degree from Syracuse University in 1955. In 1962, she earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University, which made her the first Latina woman to achieve that in the United States.
Equity in Education and Pedagogy
While attending Indiana University for her doctorate, Bernal was subjected to rampant sexism and racism. Women, particularly women of colour, were systematically denied research participation and were subjected to unprofessional conduct by faculty. These attitudes almost made her quit her studies. But she finished her doctorate because some faculty members, including Harry Yamaguchi, provided a great deal of support.
Remarkable Creators of Psychological Knowledge
Child Psychology, Behavioral Procedures
Immediately after obtaining her doctorate, Bernal worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Neuropsychiatric Institute of UCLA and at the University of Arizona. While at UCLA, she was involved in developing behavioural strategies for the treatment of conduct disorders in children and showed that such methods worked for treating acting-out behaviours in children.
Cultural Advancement of Psychology
Dr Martha Bernal shifted her emphasis toward multicultural psychology in the 1970s because there was barely any research or training relevant to culture in the field. She researched the development of ethnic identity among Mexican American children and, together with others, developed the Ethnic Identity Questionnaire for this purpose.
Advocacy and Organizational Leadership
Dr Martha Bernal was one of the founding members of the APA’s Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs (BEMA) and was on its Education and Training Committee. She was also influential in the creation of the National Hispanic Psychology Association, now named the National Latino/Psychological Association. Through these avenues, she advocated for increasing and improving the recruitment and training processes for ethnic minority psychologists to better address the needs of the populations that were traditionally underserved.
Legacy and Recognition
The legacy of Dr Martha Bernal has served to inspire many psychologists and educators who advocate for cultural competence in mental health and diversity for these specific services. This is what allowed her to receive numerous accolades, such as the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest Award from the APA in 2001. Along with this, she published in excess of 60 journal articles and book chapters. She went on to mentor a plethora of students while influencing the conversation on multicultural psychology.
Bernal continued to remain active in her advocacy and research, even while battling cancer three times throughout her life. Bernal eventually passed away on September 28, 2001.
Conclusion About Dr Martha Bernal
Dr Martha Bernal’s strives and efforts should underline for us the importance of having representation and anthropological sensitivity in a field like psychology. While also aiding in creating up-to-date mental healthcare services, she managed to pave the way for equitable practices and continually influences modern-day research alongside training programs.
