HNS is proud to recognize Dr. Yvette Tazeau as the August 2011 Member of the Month.
Employer: I am self-employed. My independent practice is located in San Jose, California.
Clinical population you work with: I have trained and worked with individuals across the developmental span, from infants through older adults. I have specialty interests in developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and dementia. In addition to neuropsychological testing, I also enjoy providing Cognitive-Behavioral and Interpersonal Therapy services.
Research interests/and or current research projects: I am interested in the intersection of service delivery and linguistically-proficient and culturally-congruent interventions. My research interests lead me to writing about cultural diversity — for clinical services, and in the workplace. I am at work on textbooks, including one on dementia in the Latino/a population.
How did you get bitten by the Hispanic neuropsychology bug? As a child, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and in El Salvador. I am Salvadoran on my mother’s side of my family. When living in San Salvador, I would tag along with my maternal grandfather, Ricardo Posada, M.D., an oncologist, as he conducted his weekend errands. I met many of the patients he had treated through his practice and was inspired by his devotion to helping others, particularly the work he did with his indigent patients. When I began my own healthcare training, I was struck by the lack of Latino/a and Spanish-speaking psychology and neuropsychology testing providers. I was drawn to working in my local community, and to helping establish means for better access to bilingual (Spanish/English) and culturally-congruent services.
Do you have any hidden talents (if not, when what are your hobbies)? An equally strong, professional interest of mine is psychology in the workplace. Prior to completing my Clinical internship at the Palo Alto V.A., I had completed a two-year Industrial-Organizational psychology internship at the Corporate Offices of Hewlett-Packard, also in Palo Alto. For as long as I have had my clinical practice (www.drtazeau.com), I have also had an active management consulting practice (www.yntconsulting.com).
What is the best advice your parents gave you? Whenever life has presented its challenges, my mother – who loves her refranes and dichos! – invokes, “No hay mal que por bien no venga,” as a reminder that every cloud has a silver lining and that many a time what appears as adversity is yet another opportunity for greater personal growth.
What profession other than yours would you like to try? I frequently tout the flexibility of the doctoral psychology degree. My degree has afforded me so many interesting learning and job opportunities that I have never felt that I am missing out on not having pursued other professions. I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed different types of work experiences including two kinds of private practices, staff at a hospital, manager of a large health services department, teaching as adjunct lecturer, psychology advocacy at the national level, and writer about the field of psychology. I am excited for more, new learning experiences in my future!
When was the last time you tried something new? I try something new almost every day! My newest interest is the use of technology in clinical practice.
If you had to pick one place in your current town to take a tourist where would you go and why? A tough question because the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Although I love my birthplace, San Francisco, and there are so many great landmarks to see in “The City,” a place that should be on any tourist’s list is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Aquarium provides a unique view of coastal marine life!