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| Dr. Nicole Torres |
Life is hardly ever a straightforward path where everything you plan goes exactly as expected. More often than not our experiences help mold us into the people we ultimately become, and the path(s) we originally intended on taking are no longer worth traveling. This seems to have been the case for sociocultural anthropologist, Dr. Nicole Torres. Today’s blog post will explore her story and current applied anthropological pursuits in social work and psychotherapy.
While Dr. Torres was pursuing her doctoral research, which focused on immigration and militarization issues along the US-Mexico border, she was inspired to pursue a Masters in Social Work (MSW). After she earned her Doctorate she enrolled and completed a MSW program. She ultimately combined her medical anthropological and social work training to foster culturally responsive and culturally relevant services for her clients. She identifies as an ecopsychologist, which is an applied psychological practice that merges psychology and ecological methods to address the psychological and natural needs of the patient. By Dr. Torres’s own accounts she utilizes various therapeutic modalities, including cognitive behavioral therapies and alternative means of healing, to provide a holistic approach to her clients’ well being. Ultimately, this approach has served her well as she has been a practicing psychotherapist for over ten years.
In addition to her psychotherapy practice she also maintains an active teaching and research agenda. She is an Assistant Professor of Human Services at Western Washington University. She teaches and supervises social work students, imbuing in them the need to take on a multidisciplinary approach in their learning and practices. She also has served as the editor of the Anthropology of Consciousness journal.
These diverse pursuits demonstrate how anthropology can be utilized in a variety of ways, both within and outside of the academy and the discipline itself. Ultimately, the unification of various disciplinary approaches aids Dr. Torres as a therapist, educator, and researcher, contributing to her continued successes.
Works Cited
Torres, Nicole. "About." 2022. Inner Tapestries. Electronic. 19 December 2022.
Torres, Nicole I. "Nicole I Torres, Clinical Social Work/Therapist." 2022. Psychology Today. Electronic. 19 December 2022.
Torres, Nicole. LinkedIn Profile. n.d. Electronic. 19 December 2022.
4 comments:
It is very impressive how she was able to combine past knowledge with newer knowledge and was able to apply it to her patients when it came to psychotherapy. The field of psychology is ever-growing and always expanding seeing new ways to adapt and be a better counselor is always great to see. I had no idea that Anthropology could be integrated with techniques within psychotherapy. Renn Bullard
Torres has demonstrated her grasp of the interdependence of social, cultural, and psychological variables in comprehending human experiences by choosing to pursue both a PhD in sociocultural anthropology and a Master's in Social Work (MSW). She can provide her customers with interventions that are more thorough and successful by combining these professions. With a degree in medical anthropology, Torres is well-equipped to handle cultural variations and customize her care to each individual's requirements.
It’s inspiring to see how Dr. Nicole Torres's experiences and research on immigration and militarization issues led her to pursue a path that combines medical anthropology and social work.- Ahmesha Johnson
This article was very interesting to me in learning about Dr. Nicole Torres' career and diverse approaches. I was impressed by her application of an anthropological perspective to social work and psychotherapy to provide culturally appropriate and holistic care to her patients. In particular, her commitment to addressing both psychological and natural needs through an eco-psychological approach offers a new perspective on the possibilities for treatment. As an educator, she also conveys the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, which reminds us of the appeal of anthropology's real-world applications that transcend disciplinary boundaries.
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