Breyers, the American ice cream brand with more than a century on the market, has partnered with Latinx Therapy, a directory of internationally renowned Latino therapists in the U.S., to launch “Conversaciones Vainilla,” a program that seeks to encourage and facilitate meaningful conversations among Hispanic families.

These types of talks, which are often perceived as taboo within the community, and on an intergenerational level, allow families to be inspired and empowered through the interactive programming that Latinx Therapy offers.

Through the resources that Breyers provides, families will be able to access tools and advice to start serious or sensitive conversations with deeper and more meaningful results.

“Latinos have limited access to culturally responsive services that reflect an understanding of their cultural norms, and acculturation experiences. With ‘Conversaciones Vainilla,’ the goal is to encourage Hispanic families to engage in behavioral health conversation about everyday topics such as therapy, dating, religion, and finances among others, that can often be perceived as being off limits, with thoughtfulness”, said Adriana Alejandre, founder of Latinx Therapy.

As part of its launch, “Conversaciones Vainilla” offers a free toolkit available in English and Spanish.

In this way, families will have resources to "get the inside scoop with thoughtfulness, and ease to break cycles by shifting the narrative and turning tough subjects into special conversations," it was pointed out through a statement. 

The toolkit includes the following strategy for starting the conversation:

• Start the conversation with a relaxed mindset. The best time to connect with family is after dinner, which provides the ideal environment to connect with family members at the table.
• Approach conversations with curiosity. Be open-minded to learn from other generations and understand their specific beliefs as you share your own.
• End conversations on a positive note. If stigma around a topic or dismissive attitudes come up, pause the conversation and try again when all parties are in a space to do so.

Alejandre stated:

Nationwide, there are only 10.8% Hispanic and Latino identifying Marriage and Family Therapists, and 5% of Hispanic psychologists. We are the minority in the field of psychology, we know our community needs resources, more than ever.

“As a valued brand within Hispanic households, we’ve partnered with Breyers to spark conversations within families to demystify the stigmas that repeat within multigenerational households, by providing tools that we know Hispanic families are always looking for. When I first created Latinx Therapy, my mission was to provide accessible resources and destigmatize mental health within our community and through programs like ‘Conversaciones Vainilla’ we can offer another tool and support that we know Hispanic families are always looking for,” added Alejandre.

For his part, Bryan Kotwicki, senior brand manager at Breyers, highlighted that through its alliance with Latinx Therapy it seeks “to facilitate moments for families to connect and shift difficult dialogue into positive gatherings by offering resources to encourage deeper conversations that are led with the utmost honesty, sincerity, and most importantly, with respect.”

For more information, visit LatinxTherapy.com, where the free Breyers “Conversaciones Vanilla” digital toolkit is available for download.

About Latinx Therapy

Latinx Therapy, which began as a self-hosted mental health podcast that aimed to provide bilingual education and normalize dialogue around therapy and mental health, has expanded through his leadership and public support to an online community, a national directory of therapists and speakers, in-person wellness events, and collaborative projects to better serve the Latino community.