Génesis Peña (she/her/ella) is a Post-Master’s Fellow in the Napa Solano Service Area who works with adults, children, and bilingual patients on the Spanish Treatment Track. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University Monterey Bay with a minor in Spanish Language and Hispanic Culture. In 2023, she graduated from The University of San Francisco with a master’s in counseling with an MFT emphasis.
Génesis began her KP journey as a Pre-Master’s Intern and continues her path of learning towards becoming a licensed clinician. She entered the mental health field because of her desire to work with Spanish speaking populations and help this underrepresented group receive mental health treatment. Génesis began her career working in a residential treatment facility for foster youths and realized that she wanted to pursue a counseling degree to take on roles that allowed her to help implement change for underserved communities. While employed at the residential treatment facility, she noticed that there were often no staff members who identified as people of color who could relate to the youths with whom they worked. This led Génesis to pursue a position where she could change that.
Génesis believes that the Mental Health Training Program at KP has both motivated and supported her ability to be mentored in this field, as well as to grow both professionally and personally. One of her accomplishments this year has been the opportunity to provide behavioral health treatment in Spanish. Génesis considers this as a chance to heal her own community and help to address intergenerational trauma as patients work through their mental health journeys. She is looking forward to learning and developing her identity as a successful bilingual clinician in the future.
Contributed by Erica Carroll, ACSW, Post Master’s Fellow – Vallejo Medical Center
