Dr. Hilda Fernandez-Alvarez has an MA in Clinical Psychology (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), an MA in Spanish Literature (University of British Columbia), and a PhD in Human Geography (Simon Fraser University). Her doctoral dissertation articulates a critique of how discourses of trauma and healing are used in public mental health institutions.

Dr. Fernandez-Alvarez actively participates in the psychoanalytic community through the Lacan Salon, a group that studies and promotes psychoanalysis in Vancouver. She co-founded the Salon in September 2007, served as its president from 2014-2016, and currently acts as its clinical director. As part of her involvement with the Lacan Salon, Dr. Fernandez-Alvarez has conducted clinical seminars since October 2015. She was also the president of the Western Canada Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy Association from 2005-2007. She is involved in the academic community as an associate of the SFU Institute for the Humanities.