Roberto Gonzalez-Prado

Roberto Gonzalez-Prado

My name is Roberto Gonzalez-Prado, and I started the Ph.D. Clinical Psychology program in 2024. I was born and raised by my Mexican mother who immigrated to San Diego from Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua in Mexico, overcoming significant economic challenges to raise both my brother and me. Growing up a few miles away from my mother's home country and learning of her story, her struggle, and her triumphs as an immigrant with little English-speaking ability informed my interests in cultural sensitivity of assessments and psychotherapy as well as my aspirations to become a clinical psychologist, working with both Spanish- and English-speaking populations.

My research interests include the efficacy of novel therapeutic techniques for chronic pain disorders with poor treatment outcomes such as fibromyalgia, and how to adapt therapies to treat patients from different minority backgrounds. In the future, I hope to become a practicing clinical psychologist while also teaching and doing research at an academic institution where I can teach and mentor the next generation of minority students like my mentors (Drs. Gonzalez, Stickel, and Morlett-Paredes) and professors (Drs. De Vos and Ulloa, Professors Leon, Velarde, and Jimenez) did for me.

Research interest(s)/area of expertise

• Central Sensitization of Chronic Pain (e.g., Fibromyalgia, FMness) 
• Emotion-focused Psychotherapeutic Techniques and Treatments
• Somatization of psychopathology

Education

• A.A. in Psychology with honors, Southwestern Community College (2020)
• A.A. in Communications with honors, Southwestern Community College (2020)
• B.A. in Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, San Diego State University (2024)

Awards and grants

National Institute of Health-funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Scholar 2024