Celso Delgado Jr. OTD, OTR/L, BCMH (he/him/his)
Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy
CHP 127
(323) 442-4446
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Celso Delgado, Jr. OTD, OTR/L, BCMH is an associate professor of clinical occupational therapy in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. His practice expertise includes community-based mental health and psychiatric rehabilitation, in particular Full Service Partnership (FSP) services that provide care to persons labeled with psychiatric disabilities in California. FSP is designed to support populations who experience significant emotional, psychological or behavioral needs and have been historically underserved/unserved by systems and public services. He has worked as an occupational therapist in the FSP programs at Occupational Therapy Training Program (Torrance, Calif.) and at USC’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles serving children, transitional age youth and their families. Dr. Delgado has research experience as an intervener providing Lifestyle Redesign intervention in Spanish and English to people with spinal cord injuries at-risk of developing pressure ulcers through USC’s Pressure Ulcer Prevention Study, a research program that was funded by the National Institute of Health.
He is currently an instructor of the mental health practice immersion course for students in the division’s entry-level professional program. He also teaches classes that focus on occupation-centered programs for the community and healthcare communication with Spanish-speaking clients. In addition, he provides fieldwork education and doctoral level mentorship to graduate students from the division placed at community-based mental health settings and psychiatric hospitals in Los Angeles County for their level II fieldwork or residencies.
Dr. Delgado is Board Certified in Mental Health by the American Occupation Therapy Association. He was elected and served in the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Board of Directors from 2014-17. He was a 2017 recipient of OTAC’s Vision Award. He is a member of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity. Since 2011, he has served as a faculty advisor for Troy Camp at USC.
Education
Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
2010 | University of Southern California
Master of Arts (MA)
in Occupational Therapy
2005 | University of Southern California
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
in Sociology
2003 | University of Southern California
Selected Publications
Milman, T. Z., Bream, S., Delgado, C., McIntyre, E., Scremin, T., Moreno, L., Yeo, M., & Pitts, D. B. (2024). “Putting on our people lens”: Lived experience as pedagogy. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 8(2), 13. Full text Show abstract
In the professional education of mental health practitioners, including occupational therapists, there has been a lack of meaningful inclusion of people labeled with mental illness into curricula, beyond guest speaker panels and presentations. This study explored the experiences of students, faculty, and 'Experts by Experience' within a mental health occupational therapy course that incorporated Experts with lived experience as co-facilitators of weekly fieldwork debriefs. The study utilized focus groups and interviews to understand the experiences of students, mental health faculty, and 'Experts by Experience'. Key themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis were organized under three broad categories: 1) Students experienced powerful insights, 2) Experts conveyed the complexity of the work, and 3) Faculty grew from co-creating learning experiences with the Experts. This research makes a significant contribution to occupational therapy education by shifting the Expert's role beyond traditional speaker panels or storytelling. This broader responsibility elevated experiential knowledge into the realm of practice in clinical reasoning by shifting the context of the knowledge from storytelling to support practice reasoning. While this created significant learning opportunities for the students, it also did appear to cause emotional risk for the 'Experts by Experience'. It is important that efforts to include 'Experts by Experience' in curriculum also include sources of support and financial remuneration.
Pyatak, E. A., Díaz, J., & Delgado, C. (2015). Engage/Trojan Neighbors: A community service partnership between an academic division and residential community. Work, 52(3), 503-508. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-152193 Show abstract
This paper describes the case of an after-school program, focused on providing enrichment opportunities for neighborhood youth, jointly administered through an academic division and residential community within a large urban research university. The program, originally conceived as an activity-based after-school program for middle school youth, expanded in scope in response to both community and student needs. The resident faculty fellow in this community served as a liaison between the academic division and office of residential education, helping maintain continuity and facilitating effective student leadership of the program. In this case, we detail the origins and evolution of the program, including strategies used to resolve challenges that arose over several years of program implementation.
In Chan News
October 8, 2021
As Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end, students and faculty talk identity: how do you self-identify and why? Student ambassador Silvia Hernandez Cuellar spoke to classmates and faculty to learn more about the significance behind their chosen identities and put together the quotes and…
November 25, 2020
November is National Family Caregivers Month, a nationwide observance that recognizes those who dedicate their time and effort towards caring for family members in need. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of family caregivers and praise their strength and support. Within occupational…
March 19, 2020
Hi! I am your occupational therapist. Are you ready to participate in today’s activities?
July 19, 2019
They created unforgettable memories as children in USC’s mentorship program. Now these Trojans are helping the next generation of campers build confidence and make lifelong friends.
April 3, 2018
By Noah Peterson/Daily Trojan Photo courtesy of Lilian Aluri "Troy Camp also runs after-school programs every week at local elementary schools in the South Los Angeles area. The Student Mentoring and After School Help programs help students develop study skills to better understand concepts they may…
September 27, 2017
By Mike McNulty Eight Trojans have been named recipients of annual awards presented by the Occupational Therapy Association of California, a non-profit professional society that represents the interests of the more than 15,000 occupational therapy practitioners working in California. Associate Chair…
October 3, 2014
By Mike McNulty Five USC Trojans received awards and 82 Trojans presented during the 2014 conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California, October 16-19 in Pasadena. Assistant clinical professor Sarah Bream received the Award of Appreciation, alumna Diane Mayfield received the…
May 8, 2014
By Mike McNulty IPGC wins Extraordinary Engagement Award Two division faculty members received year-end awards from university organizations in recognition of their dedication to serving students and the community. Assistant clinical professor Ashley Halle (pictured second from left) received an…
March 26, 2014
Congratulations to the 68 USC Trojan faculty, alumni, students and staff who presented at the 2014 Conference of the American Occupational Therapy Association, March 3-6 in Baltimore. Additionally of special note, alumnae Dottie Ecker Cert. ’58, MA ’68 and Sue Knox MA ’68, PhD ’97 were…
October 22, 2013
85 Trojan alumni and faculty will be presenting at the 2013 Conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California, Oct. 24-27 at the Sacramento (Calif.) Convention Center. On the evening of Friday Oct. 25, be sure to join your USC Trojan Family at the conference's alumni cocktail mixer.…
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