Norka Polanco Frontera

Norka Polanco-Frontera, Ph.D. serves as program director; associate professor in the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology Program at Albizu University, San Juan Campus. This faculty member’s academic preparation and research agenda contribute to the Program’s scientist-practitioner training model and culturally responsive approach.

Prevention and treatment of suicidal behavior and nonsuicidal self-injury; mental health and suicide stigma; trauma; evidence-based treatments; cognitive, behavioral, and contextual therapies; community-based participatory research; implementation science; qualitative and mixed-methods research.

Academics, Education, and Training

• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Ponce Health Sciences University
• M.A., Counseling Psychology, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus
• B.A., Criminal Justice, concentration in Forensic Psychology, University of Puerto Rico, Carolina Campus

Selected Recent Publications

• Barreto-Ayes, F., Vélez-Báez, E., Vélez, E., Aguilar, E., Bermonti, M., Polanco-Frontera, N., & Rivera-Segarra, E. (accepted, 2026). Examining suicide literacy among emerging adult medical students in Puerto Rico. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health.
• Polanco Frontera, N., González Chardón, M., Gómez Arroyo, K., Menéndez, H., Estrada Reyes, M., & López Robledo, Y. (2025). The cultural, professional, and regulatory context of clinical oversight in Puerto Rico. In M. Grazioso et al. (Eds.), Clinical supervision in Latin America (pp. 127-145). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-82373-2
• Rodríguez, R., Méndez-González, G., Vega-Tirado, K., Bermonti-Pérez, M., Cordero-Arroyo, G., & Polanco-Frontera, N. (2025). Exploring the relationship between attention, working memory, and academic achievement among Puerto Rican adolescents exposed to adverse events. Revista Iberoamericana de Neuropsicología, 8(1), 73-88.
• Torres, J., Polanco-Frontera, N., & Menéndez, H. (2024). Experiences of therapists implementing dialectical behavioral therapy with people with borderline personality disorder. In G. Cordero Arroyo et al. (Eds.), Aportaciones interdisciplinarias a la psicología en el Caribe y Latinoamérica: Colaboración y compromiso social. Asociación de Psicología de Puerto Rico.
• Duarte-Vélez, Y., Jiménez-Colón, G., Buitrón, V., Polanco Frontera, N., & Gómez, J. (2023). Clinician perspectives on challenges among Latinx/Hispanic adolescents with suicidal behaviors and their families. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk, 14(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.58464/2155-5834.1541