معرفی
Karen Roller serves as Associate Professor and Clinical Coordinator for Family Connections Programs at Palo Alto University, dedicating her career to addressing mental health disparities for Spanish-speaking communities through bilingual clinical training and somatic trauma interventions. Her work bridges academic rigor with community-based practice, emphasizing secure attachment as foundational for healing injustice and trauma.
Her educational foundation includes a PhD in Clinical Psychology with Somatic Psychology specialization from Santa Barbara Graduate Institute (2005-2012), an MA in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University (1996-1998), and dual BAs in Psychology and Spanish Literature from Saint Mary’s College (1990-1994), complemented by a semester in Spain (1993). This multilingual background enabled her development of Bilingual Certification for counseling students to address critical language-concordant service gaps.
Dr. Roller's research focuses on Trauma-Informed Care for the Underserved, Spanish-language Clinical Training, Attachment theory, Somatics, and Global Mental Health. She emphasizes communalist approaches learned from Latinx colleagues and clients, viewing secure attachment as universal necessity for trauma recovery. Her work actively challenges systemic barriers while promoting culturally responsive practices in counselor education and clinical settings.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals strong thematic convergence: anti-oppressive frameworks in counselor education, somatic interventions for underserved populations (particularly Latinx and migrant communities), and trauma-informed approaches to language barriers and cultural adaptation. She consistently integrates lifespan development perspectives with social justice imperatives across online education, disaster response, and global outreach contexts.
As Clinical Coordinator for Family Connections Programs, she mentors students in bilingual clinical practice and leads initiatives supporting migrant families. Her community engagement extends to Haiti through culturally responsive trauma training, reflecting her commitment to global mental health equity. She actively contributes to disaster mental health response frameworks, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing somatic approaches to collective trauma.
