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Welcome to Carmen Says!
Dr. Carmen Guanipa addresses common issues of concern to young people and their parents, and issues that are faced by people who are adjusting to life in a new culture. We post informational essays based on the most commonly received questions from our readers or questions from family counseling. Just click on the topic of your choice to view the essay and resources.
- ( Drug Abuse: Some tips to help friends with drug problems.
- Self Esteem: (Estima
de si mismo): Self esteem is how I feel about myself. It is
my general judgment of myself, or how much I like myself. There
is a list of characteristics of a person with high or low self esteem.
Which list of feelings sounds most like you?
- Communication
Problems: (Problemas
de Comunicación) Are you having difficulty communicating with
your partner? Visit this page for helpful hints on how to understand and
improve your style of communicating.
- Culture
Shock (Choque
Cultural): Are you having difficulty adjusting to living in a new environment?
Are you experiencing anxiety produced by not knowing what to do or how to
do things appropriately? Are you confused? Lack direction? If any of these
feelings seem familiar, then visit the Culture Shock page for more information
about culture shock: what it is, the symptoms, the stages, how to fight
it, and how long it will last.
- Ethnic
Identity (La
Identidad Étnica.): What is Ethnic Identity? What barriers do
adolescents and families face, and what can be done?
- Grief: What is it? What are the stages? What can you do about it?
Send your questions, ideas, suggestions to Carmen Says!You can send suggestions for other topics you would like to see or ask Carmen questions. We can only answer questions of a general nature. We cannot provide counseling or professional advice. Carmen Says is not meant to replace face to face counseling and is not the place to go for immediate answers or crisis intervention.
Answers to Questions and Comments
If you want to see answers to questions submitted to Amigos, visit the Answer page. We post short answers to some of the most commonly asked questions. Some questions require longer answers and are instead posted on Carmen Says as essays.
Carmen is Dr. Carmen Guanipa, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling and School Psychology at San Diego State University. Carmen's specialties are Couple and Family Therapy, Multicultural Counseling (Cross Psychology, Group Psychotherapy with Diverse Population & Intermarriage) and Health Psychology. Carmen is the Director of the Individual and Family Counseling Clinic (IFCC) at San Diego State University.