Vivian Colón is a proud member of the Latinx community and has been a mentor, advocate, agitator, community change agent, researcher, counselor,mediator and community organizer since high school. After attending Syracuse, she worked as a counselor running peer leadership and peer mediation groups, However it was after working with children from refugee camps and asylum seekers, she knew she wanted to pursue higher education doing social work. Vivian was raised in the South Bronx and has continuously advocated for the Spanish speaking population.She has promoted the social work profession and service to underserved clients in the community, encouraging families to know their rights and advocate for their students. Once in her graduate program, she became really interested in clinical practice and witnessed the shift in the profession from psychoanalytic practice to evidence based short term interventions. She also loves learning new assessment tools to provide the best care and treatment for the children of the South Bronx. She pursued a postgraduate in Working with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Children and worked in hospitals. community health centers, the Bronx Family Court system and mental health centers.
Vivian collaborated with a group right by Mott Haven called Casa Atabex Ache that specialized in hosting women’s retreats, hosting healing and empowerment circles, and trauma healing using native practice. She loves to learn anything new and innovative and pushes others to do the same. Vivian believes that combining modern evidence based practices and the teachings of indigenous roots and culture are the way to heal a community. She believes her best work is teaching others, especially interns getting into this field. She loves running her own small groups and serving students in counseling. She truly believes that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. She is currently working on certification to integrate nature therapy and counseling for adults and children.
