PLUS

PLUS is a space for us to create community as students, alums, and clinicians from ethnically underrepresented and historically excluded racialized groups. This space will be a meeting in which we, as a community, share resources for survival, hold each other through hard times and relate the work we do as MFTs to the healing practices people of color have used to thrive for generations. Additionally, the hope is that PLUS will build a bridge of the work MFT students of color have done at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) across cohorts, and remind us all that we are numerous and powerful.

~Dr. Montinique McEachern, LMFT
PLU Core Interim Faculty, Class of 2020-2021

MONTHLY MEETINGS

This group is for current MFT students and alumni of the program.

Second Thursday of the month from 12:00pm – 1:00pm

To join or if you have questions, please email Rachel Howard at howardrm@plu.edu

Third Annual PLUS Conference: Friday May 17, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Featuring renowned Guest Speaker Natalie Gutierrez.

SUMMER BREAK – no meetings scheduled in August.

Currently, PLUS Conference Committee Members, Vero Garcia and Mayra Sanchez, are hosting Reading Circulos on March 23rd, April 20th, April 27th, and May 5th. Please join us to learn more about the acclaimed book “The Pain We Carry: Healing from Complex PTSD for People of Color” by Natalie Gutierrez. Click here to learn more!

Juancarlos Santisteban
Juancarlos Santisteban, MA, LMFT

PLUS Group Facilitator

Juancarlos Santisteban (he,him,el) is a first generation immigrant from Guatemala, and is a first generation college graduate. He has a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Bachelors in Family Studies from Weber State University. Juancarlos is the Training Director and Clinical Supervisor for the Counseling and Psychological Services Center for Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Juancarlos is the co-chair of the DEI committee for the Student Access and Success Division and a member of the DEI Advisory Council for Weber State University. Juancarlos also is the owner of Here Beside YOU Therapy LLC.

Jessica
Jessica Infante-Castro, MA, LMFT

PLUS Group Facilitator

Jessica (she/her/ella) graduated from Pacific Lutheran University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program, and embarked on her professional career in community health.  In 2017, Jessica made a transition to academic counseling.  Previously, she attended Gonzaga University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and the owner of Columbia Basin Family Therapy, LLC in Eastern Washington.

As a daughter of Mexican immigrants, who work the lands of the Columbia Basin, Jessica returns to her hometown often, and is supporting rural families, many of whom share her background. She is passionate about promoting family healing and secure attachments, and provides services for many Spanish-speaking and low-income families.

Jessica’s greatest values are family and education. She enjoys volunteering her time on the Hispanic Academic Achievers Program (HAAP) scholarship committee. Her self-repair activities include dancing with her two children and partner, scrapbooking, and watching a variety of series’ on Netflix.