Rocio Alvarenga, EdD, OTR

Assistant Professor, OT Programs

Campus

Dallas, TX

College

College of Rehabilitative Sciences

Specialties

Higher Education
Higher Education Leadership
Interprofessional Education
Mental Health

Education

EdD in Educational Leadership & Administration, University of Texas at El Paso
Master of Occupational Therapy, University of Texas at El Paso
Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Research Interests

Faculty & Student Stress: Mindfulness Based Interventions to Manage Stress
K-12 Student Mental Health
Neurofeedback
Community Engagement/Service Learning/IPE to promote student learning

Dr. Rocio Alvarenga is an occupational therapist and educator focused on student-centered and patient-centered approaches to promote overall well-being. She is a native Texan and has practiced in pediatric and adult outpatient and home health, adult inpatient and neurorehabilitation. She has also worked at the El Paso State Supported Living Center, which is an institution for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Dr. Alvarenga previously worked as a fieldwork coordinator and a clinical instructor for mental health, psychosocial and task analysis courses. She holds a Master of Occupational Therapy from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration from UTEP in 2020.

She has presented at state and national conferences, and her research interests include faculty stress, mindfulness programming, neurofeedback interventions and enhancing pediatric mental health. Dr. Alvarenga joined the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences at the Dallas, TX campus in 2020.