Research

Current Projects

Counselor Self-Awareness Development in Counselor Education

Dr. Rodriguez seeks to develop a training protocol for teaching embodied self-awareness to counselors-in-training. Although there is a considerable amount of literature on the importance of teaching self-awareness skills to counselors-in-training (CITs), there is a lack of research on how self-awareness is taught, specifically on embodiment and the role of the body in self-awareness training in counselor education. The goal of this study is to explore how counselors develop self-awareness in counselor education using a constructivist paradigm and grounded theory approach. Lindsey Bell is the lead research assistant on this project. 

Past Projects

Examining Trauma Prevalence and Exploring Interoception as a Mechanism for Emotion Regulation in MOUD 

An NIH Diversity Supplement grant funds this project through the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative. This study seeks to provide training and mentorship to Dr. Monique Rodriguez to examine research questions specific to: a)  the types of lifetime trauma exposure among men and women engaged in medication treatment for opioid use disorder and the association between types of trauma and symptomatic distress; and b) explore interoceptive awareness as a potential mediator of emotion regulation and mental health indicators. The results from this project will address gaps in knowledge in MOUD treatment research that is critical for consideration in opioid use disorder treatment and relapse prevention, with the goal of improving treatment efficacy and decreasing the public health burden of opioid use disorder. 

Mitigating the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences for Youth in Protective Services Through an Evidence-Informed Resilience Approach

This project has been developed by Dr. Melody Avila and Dr. Monique Rodriguez, and the partnership with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (HSC) with the involvement of the Institute for Resilience, Health and Justice (IRHJ), the College of Nursing, the College of Education & Human Sciences, the Department of Family and Community Medicine, the division of Child Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and collaboration with the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD). This project is a randomized control trial of the ADOBE Portal Project and focuses on Hispanic adolescent mental behavioral health (MBH), building on and enhancing IRHJ’s integrated, multidisciplinary, sustainable, whole-family approach by not only intensifying the incorporation of telehealth services into the model but also by expanding access to include all adolescents who have been referred to CYFD PS, regardless of whether or not they have a history of incarceration. The goal of this project is to enhance and expand the IRHJ model in a way that will address MBH needs and reduce health disparities for Hispanic adolescents.