UNO student finds creative way to educate Spanish-speaking community on mental health

A University of Omaha-Nebraska student finds a unique way to reach the Spanish-speaking community about mental health.

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UNO student brings therapy to Spanish-speaking community online

OMAHA, Neb. —

A University of Omaha-Nebraska student finds a unique way to reach the Spanish-speaking community about mental health.

According to a national Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Services report, Hispanic adults were 28 percent less likely to seek mental health assistance in 2024 compared with the total U.S. population.

UNO student said there’s a negative view of mental health assistance in the Spanish-speaking community, so instead of hoping the community seeks out the help they need, she brings the help to them.

“TikTok, that’s something everybody uses,” UNO psychology graduate Rebecca Gómez said. “It’s something everybody’s on all the time.”

What started as an idea is now routine for Gómez.

“I started focusing on Spanish-speaking communities because I realized that they weren’t there to come to therapy, but I could go to them,” Gómez said.

From the UNO Community Counseling Clinic to the camera.

“Take what I’ve learned from class and educate people on mental health and things that they may not know,” Gómez said.

She said she made her first video exactly one year ago, and only had a handful of views.

Now, she has more than 100,000 followers.

“If I could help one person, that one person is worth it,” Gómez said.

She said social media is a great way to reach people, but cautions users to know the difference between artificial intelligence or life coaches from licensed counselors.

“Something a lot of people don’t know is us therapists will not tell you what to do,” she said.

With recent immigration activity, Gómez says the community needs to feel supported and heard.

“We are in need, more than ever, and those 30-second TikToks are really helping,” she said.

Gómez wants to break what she called a “negative stigma” around therapy in the Spanish-speaking community.

“A lot of that stigma is just coming from ‘you’re not doing enough,'” she said.

Gómez said she knows from personal experience.

“I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until my second year in college,” she said. “That absolutely changed my life, and I wanted to be that change for somebody else.”