Martha E. Bernal

Martha E. Bernal was a clinical psychologist who was born on April 13, 1931, in San Antonio, Texas, and she died of cancer at the age of 70 in 2001. She earned her doctoral degree at Indiana University Bloomington in 1962. She was the first Latina to receive a doctorate degree in psychology in the United States. She helped with the treatment and assessment of children with behavioral problems, but she also led the way for diversity in psychology with a scholarship program, and with strong emphasis on multiculturalism.

Education

Martha entered school in 1936. Back then speaking Spanish was not allowed in school, and both the school and the community in which she lived, El Paso, Texas, were racially segregated An accomplishment within itself, Martha graduated El Paso High School in 1948. Despite her continuous success as a student, Bernal recalls being dissuaded from teachers from taking challenging classes such as advanced mathematics and lacking encouragement and support to be successful in school. The lack of encouragement towards female students can be seen as a major contributor in women not pursuing their educations any further at that time. Despite her lack of support, Bernal was determined to persevere and decided to pursue further education. However, when Bernal first expressed her desire to pursue her bachelor's degree in psychology, she was met with opposition from her father, Enrique. He insisted that Bernal should instead concentrate on finding a husband and starting a family and expressed to her his idea that education was a waste of time for women. Though her father opposed, Bernal received support from her mother and sisters, urging her to insist, which eventually led to her father permitting her to attend school.

Martha Bernal received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1952 and from there went on to obtain her Masters of Arts at Syracuse University. However, Bernal was faced with racism and sexism on a daily basis. Additionally, it was extremely difficult for her to pay for school, despite receiving some financial support from her father, it was necessary for Bernal to work to pay for her own schooling. Bernal states that though these times proved to be especially difficult for having to overcome racism, sexism, and economic difficulties, she tended to stay positive in order to not lose sight of her dream

In 1962, Martha Bernal became the first Mexican woman to earn her doctoral degree in clinical psychology which she received from Indiana University, Bloomington, an accomplishment that was almost thwarted. There, Bernal faced unfair treatment and inequalities specifically for being a woman. As a result of not being allowed to participate on research projects with professors, Bernal felt her education being compromised and expressed a great desire in abandoning her studies at Indiana University. Luckily, Bernal found support in a friend that dissuaded her from doing so, insisting the chances were very unlikely of her returning to finish her degree. Eventually, Bernal persevered for her best interest, a decision which would prove greatly worth the effort in the end.

Research

Despite becoming the first Mexican woman to receive her doctoral degree in clinical psychology, Martha Bernal was unable to obtain an academic position. Most establishments simply responded to her applications with the statement “we do not hire women”. Martha instead turned to conducting research. She was able to obtain a U.S. Public Health and Service Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California in which she engaged in a number of research topics including human psychophysiology, childhood psychopathology, and conduct disorders. In 1965, Bernal received her first grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to aid in her studying of the use of classical conditioning on autistic children. Shortly after, in 1969, Bernal assumed her first teaching position as an assistant professor at the University of Arizona at Tucson. There she continued her studies that focused on autistic children and collaborated with her colleagues Roland Tharp and Ralph Wetzel on a number of different projects, mainly focusing on developing programs aimed towards the training of parents using a variety of methods including television feedback and creating lesson plans that were based in learning principles for the parents to follow when trying to change their children’s unhealthy behavior due to conduct disorder problems.

She fought for need to prepare mental health professionals to provide services to the growth of ethnic minorities in the United States. Martha Bernal was very outspoken when it came to recruiting and training more ethnic minorities in the field of psychology. She also was a pioneer in the issues regarding curricula with minority content in clinical and counseling psychology programs across the nation.

Contributions to psychology

Martha Bernal’s contribution to the field of psychology as well as her persistence to preserve despite the countless obstacles she faced eventually paid off and did not go unnoticed. She received many awards for her work with children and her clinical work. Because her experiences were very similar to the prejudices of the larger society, she made a huge difference in the recruitment of Hispanics into her field and to the treatment of minorities in the United States. Arguably one her most prestigious award was the Distinguished Life Achievement award from APA’s Division 45. In 2001, she received the Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest Award in 2001, though she was unable to accept the award due to her succumbing of her longtime battle with cancer in September 2001.

Death

Martha Bernal battled cancer throughout her life, and returned after each treatment to her academic world. After battling, and recovering from cancer three times, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and died at age 70 in 2001.

Legacy

Martha Bernal was also a part of starting up groups such as the Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs in the APA and the National Hispanic Psychology Association. Her most notable accomplishment is the fact that she taught and mentored so many students. She helped her students with the things that she had struggles with throughout her life. She wanted to help students have equal opportunities for advancement in psychology. She has gained extensive acknowledgments from the people with whom she interacted. She was inspiring to many of her followers and peers, and her work will live on through these lives that she has influenced forever. She has scholarships in her name that assist minority students, especially women through college, such as The Martha E. Bernal Memorial Scholarship Award Endowment at Arizona State University.