Veronica Franco is a recipient of the 2020-21 APA Minority Fellowship (MFP) in Mental Health and Substance Use Services. Funded by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the MFP has created the Predoctoral Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) Fellowship to support the training of practitioners in behavioral health services and prevention. This fellowship program is designed for students in clinical, counseling, and school psychology, and other psychology doctoral students whose training prepares them for careers in behavioral health services.
Veronica Franco is a 2nd year doctoral student in the in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, with a Counseling Psychology emphasis at the Gervitz School. A Mexican American first generation college student, Franco was born and raised in Los Angeles and received B.A. in Sociology and Education from UC Irvine and Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Under the guidance of Dr. Melissa Morgan Consoli, Franco’s professional and research interests involve Latinx cultural values, protective factors, resilience, and well-being. Her clinical interests are in bilingual psychotherapy, culturally attuned services, and multicultural psychology with a social justice lens. She is currently completing her clinical externship at UCSB’s Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP).