Dr. Sam Terrazas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Texas at El Paso. He completed his Ph.D. from Barry University in 2010. He teaches micro practice, macro and research methods courses in the BSW and MSW programs. Dr. Terrazas’s research agenda revolves around the mental health of farmworkers including their access and use of mental health care. Additionally, his research interests include Latino mental health, secondary trauma, rural social work and social service administration.
Dr. Terrazas is the Principal Investigator (PI) on a grant funded by the Texas Department of Family Protective services, which is a pilot project designed to reduce the amount of time children spend in foster care. He is also the PI on two research projects designed to inform the development of a low cost and accessible treatment of depression among Latino farmworkers. Dr, Terrazas is a co-Principal Investigator on a study that examined the impact of secondary trauma of professionals and paraprofessionals who serve migrants and refugees in the southwest. He also is the co-director of a project funded by the Hogg Foundation to advance the education of bi-lingual social workers in mental health.
Dr. Terrazas has most recently published in the Journal of Rural Social Science and the American International Journal of Contemporary Research. He has presented eight (8) papers at national conferences in the past three (3) years in the areas of farmworker mental health, secondary trauma and child welfare.
Dr. Terrazas serves as a volunteer consultant with farmworker organizations and various social service organizations in El Paso. He is also a licensed clinical social worker in Texas and Florida.