Open Dialogue on LGBT and Pacific Islander Mental Health: Lived Experiences of a Veteran  

Come join in on the next webinar in the ‘Ohana Center of Excellence web series focused on the intersection of LGBT Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander mental health.

K Mataōtama Strohl (they/them) will be sharing their lived experiences at the intersection of being a Black, Sāmoan, Queer, Transgender, and disabled veteran with ADHD, PTSD, and substance use disorder. The presentation will focus on K’s experiences in order to educate and increase awareness for those in the LGBT, Black, Sāmoan, and veteran community as well as their providers. Dr. Lesther Papa (he/him/siya/esuna) will be hosting this open dialogue and encourages attendees to be open, curious, and ask questions to learn more about K’s experiences together.

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

In 2018, K decided to take their own life after internalizing the behavior of an unsafe workplace. After years of working in Aviation Maintenance and Human Resources (HR), K made a pivot towards work that would allow them to continue to serve others. They now work with organizations to create psychologically safe environments for people who share their identities or their lived experiences and coach individuals on how to make boundaried decisions that prioritize their mental health.

K is Black, Sāmoan, Queer ,Transgender and a disabled veteran. K lives with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a Substance Use Disorder.

Severe Mental Illness and Dismantling Mental Health Barriers: Culturally Responsive Strategies for Supporting Asian Americans

This workshop will present a detailed description of severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia spectrum disorders and review their impact and current findings among Asian American individuals and families. An in-depth discussion of prevalent barriers to mental healthcare among Asian American communities will be provided, such as mental health stigma and misinformation. Prevailing myths and misconceptions about schizophrenia, psychotropic medications, and psychotherapy will be explored and reviewed. Strategies will be provided on micro, mezzo, and macro levels for behavioral health practitioners, clinical social workers, community advocates, academic researchers, and family members and loved ones regarding supporting Asian American individuals with severe mental illness and de-stigmatizing mental health at large. Techniques for treatment engagement, initiating and receiving services, contributing to community anti-stigma efforts, and other suggestions for engaging with Asian American clients on multiple levels in social work practice will be provided.
What will participants learn?

  • Detailed overview and information about severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia spectrum disorders
  • Exploration of prevalent barriers to mental healthcare such as mental health stigma and their impact on Asian American communities
  • Myths and misconceptions about prevailing stereotypes and misinformation about severe mental illness, psychotropic medication, and psychotherapy
  • Strategies for building trust and engaging with Asian American clients with severe mental illness in therapy, including for clients with anosognosia (lack of insight)
  • Suggestions for supporting Asian American families impacted by severe mental illness on community, research, and organizational levels
  • Resources for schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Who should attend?

  • Behavioral health providers, professionals, and trainees
  • Asian American social workers and community leaders
  • Community members interested in learning more about mental health
  • Asian American local and community-based organizations
  • Academic researchers and scholars interested in areas of Asian diaspora mental health
  • Family members, friends, and colleagues who may know someone impacted by severe mental illness

DOWNLOADS & REPLAY

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Juliann Li Verdugo (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker and a trilingual first-generation Chinese American from San Diego, California. She is currently a Ph.D. student studying social welfare at the University of Washington, focusing on research areas of racial and ethnic health disparities, Asian American and Latinx mental health, severe mental illness, and culturally responsive service delivery.

 

Juliann received a Bachelor of Science in clinical psychology from the University of California at San Diego (2017) and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan (2019). She has led and contributed to various research projects focused on topics including schizophrenia spectrum disorders, psychosis, caregivers of individuals with severe mental illness, and intervention development and testing.

 

Prior to starting her doctoral education, Juliann worked for over 3 years as a clinician with a group practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan, providing outpatient psychotherapy services to adults of color. She also served as the project coordinator for a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded grant conducting community-based participatory research on suicide prevention for adults with schizophrenia in a community mental health setting.

 

On a personal level, Juliann loves traveling, walking in nature, playing video games such as The Legend of Zelda, and spending time with her husky Strider. She is excited to collaborate with the ‘Ohana team and looks forward to her future work with Asian diaspora organizations and communities.

Culturally Adapted Depression Assessment for Chinese Americans: How to Reduce Mental Health Disparities and Improve Access to Care

The workshop will cover culturally based symptom expressions for depression, including psychological, somatic, and interpersonal symptoms, used by Chinese American adolescents, adults, and older adults and how healthcare and community providers can better detect depression and engage clients with mental health care. The workshop showcases educational videos and symptom checklists developed by the San Francisco Bay Area Chinese Community Depression Education Project. The project used a community-based participatory approach to develop culturally sensitive tools to address disparities in mental health and access to services. While the assessment and educational tools were developed for a Chinese-speaking population, they are also applicable to other communities.

What will you learn in this workshop?

• Articulate a Chinese culture-based construct of depression with three dimensions—psychological, somatic and interpersonal;
• Articulate Chinese culture-specific expressions of depressive distress used by Chinese Americans;
• Articulate how you can integrate culturally sensitive depression assessment and educational tools into your professional practice and social services with Chinese speaking patients/clients;
• Recognize differences in the differential endorsement of depressive symptoms based on level of acculturation to U.S. society, gender, education, and other factors.

Who is this workshop for?

• Behavioral health care providers who work with Asian American communities.
• Members of Asian American community-based organizations.
• Asian American individuals and those who support them.

DOWNLOADS & REPLAY

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Rose Wong is the Director of Social Work at Palo Alto University, where she is starting a master of social work (MSW) program with a specialization in culturally informed behavioral health. Prior to this position, she served as associate professor and department chair of social work at California State University East Bay and as founding director of the MSW program at University of the Pacific. Before earning her master’s and doctoral degrees in social welfare from UC Berkeley, she studied public and international affairs at Princeton University and public administration and psychology in universities in France.

In Dr. Wong’s research, she teams up with community professionals to develop culturally sensitive mental health educational materials in Chinese language, including brochures with symptom checklists and videos for use by professionals and community members. Dr. Wong’s practice experience in the Asian American immigrant community includes counseling for children and families who experienced domestic violence and supporting the implementation of integrated care treatment programs for older adults with depression. In 2022, Dr. Wong published a book entitled, Which Evidence-Based Practice Should I Use?: A Social Worker’s Handbook for Decision Making.

Addressing Racial Trauma among Asian American Men through Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) – Part II

This two-part workshop series aims to address the critical but neglected issue of race-based trauma among Asian American men particularly of East Asian origin such as Korea, Japan, and China. It will suggest some practical strategies to promote wellness and empowerment using the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a non-pathologizing approach to therapy and skills building that emphasizes mindful acceptance and meaningful action rather than symptom reduction. This approach, alternatively known as Acceptance and Commitment Training, can also be utilized in non-clinical settings (e.g., church, temple) by practitioners who are not necessarily therapists (e.g., ministers, coaches, etc.)

Acceptance and Commitment Training is very compatible with indigenous Asian wellness practices such as mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion/wisdom traditions and can be well-suited for individuals who are less likely to seek mental health services due to stigma. When used in conjunction with communal support within an intersectional framework, ACT can be an effective approach for addressing racial trauma among Asian American men.

Who is this workshop series for?

This workshop series is for anyone interested in addressing racial trauma. You do not need to be a therapist nor an Asian American man. This workshop can benefit coaches, ministers, community organizers, healthcare workers, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding and dealing with racial trauma within an Asian American context.

Format of the workshop series:

This workshop series will utilize a qualitative method known as autoethnography and will include a case presentation using the presenter’s own lived experience with racial trauma.

What you will learn in Part II (September, 26, 2023)**  of this workshop: 

  • Understand how the six processes of ACT can mitigate hurtful racial stereotypes
  • Learn a simple way to implement ACT skills tailored for Asian American men
  • Explore ways to use ACT as a supplement to indigenous Asian practices and cross cultural community-building

**Important: For those who have not attended Part I (August 29, 2023) of this series, it may be helpful to watch the recording of that session prior to attending Part II.

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Phillip Cha, MFT, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years in community mental health. He holds the position of clinical supervisor at UCSF Citywide Case Management where he oversees and guides the work of intensive case management within a culture-focused milieu.

In addition, Phillip maintains a part-time private practice in San Francisco where he provides therapy services to individuals, couples, and families specializing in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a therapeutic approach that focuses on mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based action.

Phillip’s expertise in ACT has led him to offer training and consultation internationally with mental health professionals around the world. Phillip has been an adjunct faculty member at the Myanmar Clinical Psychology Consortium from 2018 to 2022.

He is passionate about exploring ways in which contextual behavioral therapies can be applied across diverse communities and contexts and in ways that promote wellness and justice particularly for those who are marginalized.

We Need to Talk About It: Stigma, Shame, and the Importance of Conversations about Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in AANHPI Families and Communities

This webinar will explore issues that constrain AANHPIs from talking about mental health and suicide and ways we can address these concerns. We will consider how the model minority myth, health disparities, and cultural mismatch of services and interventions impact AANHPIs’ ability to start conversations about mental health and suicide prevention with our families, friends, and in our communities. We will consider the importance of cultural humility when addressing mental health concerns, especially cross-culturally and strategies to break the silence around these critical issues.

 

What will you learn in this workshop?

  • Some of the issues that constrain AANHPIs from addressing mental health and suicide in our communities including the impact of the model minority myth, social determinants of health, and cultural framing of mental health concerns.
  • The importance of cultural humility in MH and suicide prevention work
  • Strategies and considerations when addressing MH in AANHPI communities

 

Who is this workshop for?

  • Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community members
  • AANHPI allies and advocates
  • Behavior health professionals

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

 

Dr. Pata Suyemoto is a feminist scholar, writer, educator, curriculum developer, equity trainer, mental health activist, jewelry designer, and avid bicyclist. She earned her PhD. from the University of Pennsylvania and did her research on anti-racist education and issues of race and racism. She is the Training Director for the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) and a master trainer for NAAPIMA’s Achieving Whole Health Program.

Pata is the director of the National Asian American Pacific Islander Empowerment Network, which is a network of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) with lived-experience related to mental health concerns. She is the Associate Director of Equity for the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) and the co-chair of the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition. Pata is also founder and co-chair of the MCSP Alliance for Equity and one of the authors of Widening the Lens: Exploring the Role of Social Justice in Suicide Prevention – A Racial Equity Toolkit.

She has spoken and written about being a suicide attempt survivor and her struggles with chronic depression and complex PTSD. She is a co-founder of The Breaking Silences Project, which is an artistic endeavor that educates about the high rates of depression and suicide among Asian American young women. Pata is a member of a number of boards and committees including the MCSP’s Executive Committee, the planning committee for the annual Asian American Mental Health Forum, and MGH CARE Trustees. Her claim to fame is that she rode her bicycle across the country in the summer of 2012.

Understanding Grant Funding, Acquisition & Administration for Our Indigenous Communities

In partnership with Hoʻakā Mana, the AANHPI ‘Ohana Center of Excellence invites you to a discussion with Jeeyun Lee, to gain a stronger understanding of how to position yourself and your indigenous company for grant funding for community impact and sustainability.

Attendees can join in person at Kuha‘o Business Center, Maui
Attendees can also join online via Zoom (replay available one day after)

Who is this workshop for?

  • Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander run and serving nonprofits and business.

What will participants learn?

  • BASICS in writing grants such as; Narrative, Timelines, Budgets. etc.
  • The differences between small businesses and nonprofit grant writing.
  • Insights on where to find business, individual, and nonprofit grants.

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Jeeyun is from Korean decent and has been a guest in the lands of the Kānaka Māoli in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i since 2009. She has her Master’s in Social Work in international and community development and launched her career of nonprofit service 20 years ago in the Midwest.

After contributing to the O‘ahu nonprofit sector for almost a decade, Jee moved to Maui in 2018 because it was important to her to raise her son ‘where he is from’, and for both of them to connect and contribute to that community. This was an experience she never had being raised in Michigan due to the Korean war’s impact on Korea’s economy at the time of her parents’ immigration. They currently live closer to his Hawaiian ‘ohana who is from the Napili area in West Maui. She enjoys spending time with her 12 year old son and husband immersed in nature, exploring mauka to makai.

Jee currently serves as the Development Manager at Hale Makua Health Services and volunteers with many nonprofits in her spare time. She is also a managing partner and consultant at ChangeWorks, focused on creating impactful change within our community.

Treating Asian Americans with CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services)

The Federal Office of Minority Health developed 15 standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS), which represent a “gold standard” for providing culturally responsive care. This training will introduce the national CLAS standards as a framework for providing responsive, respectful and equitable behavioral health care for Asian Americans. Following the training, participants will be able to summarize the main themes and purpose of the national CLAS standards, and articulate practical steps towards implementing concepts and principles of the CLAS standards to serve Asian American clients.

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Michael Liao’s career in social work has spanned various settings—including child welfare, domestic violence prevention, supervised visitation, mental health, and substance abuse treatment.  Michael is currently the Director of Programs for NICOS Chinese Health Coalition. Since 2004, Michael has been providing cultural responsiveness training on a wide range of topics including implicit bias and widening our personal lens, cross-cultural communications, Asian American cultural issues, LGBTQ+ issues, and anti-oppressive practices, for a wide variety of audiences.

Continuing Dialogue on Gender, Sexuality, and Mental Health: Afakasi Experiences

We’re continuing the dialogue on gender, sexuality, and mental health and focusing on the experiences of LGBTQ+ Afakasi! The session will feature Stanson Afoa and Li‘olemāsina “Li‘o” Pele Lubanski who will be hosted by Dr. Lesther Papa. Throughout the session, we will explore a diverse range of topics, including navigating Afakasi/Queer identity, experiences with mental health, and messages for both members and providers of the Samoan community.  

What will you learn?

Experiences navigating intersectional identities and mental health.

Who is this for?

Members of the Samoan community and providers who serve them.

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Stanson Afoa is a Content Creator on TikTok where he has curated a following of over 117,000 people. His content predominately revolves around the intersections of his identity as a queer, mixed-Samoan born and raised in Alaska. He utilizes his background in Communication Studies to inform his content style, utilizing both serious and humor-forward approaches. He has been able to use his platform to connect and create cultural conversations that have gained traction in the diaspora, in the islands of Samoa and across Oceania.

Li‘olemāsina “Li‘o” Pele Lubanski (li-oh-leh-MAH-see-nah PEH-leh loo-BAN-skee)

Li‘o’s mom is from Mālie, Sāmoa and their dad is from Fox Lake, Illinois.  Li‘o was born in Southern California and raised in Arizona where they still live. They have always wanted to know more about fa‘asāmoa especially what life was like before colonization. This led them to majoring in Asian & Pacific American Studies at Arizona State University where they were the first to graduate with that degree in 2014.

They are an alumnus of the 6th cohort of Pacific Islander Leaders for Tomorrow (PILOT) through Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) and was asked to return as a Mana Mentor for the 10th cohort. They currently serve as Community Organizer for Arizona Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders for Equity (AZ AANHPI For Equity) and as board member and secretary for Island Liaison.

Li‘o is trans nonbinary (culturally fa‘atama), queer, ADHD, and Autistic and has always advocated for underrepresented people like them. They believe taking into account a person’s whole identity and understanding cultural history are keys to uplifting one another in community. This shows up in their Community Organizer work facilitating healing circles for their local Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Li‘o hosts these circles as spaces to discuss mentally and emotionally heavy topics like climate change, LGBTQ+ issues, intergenerational trauma, and more.

In their free time, Li‘o loves to draw, write, sing, and cuddle up with their partner and 3 cats.

Hānai Ahu: Anchoring Culture in Substance Use Treatment & Prevention Models – Trauma Tips and Tools

Hawaiʻi Opioid Initiative (HOI) Workgroup members, social workers, health care providers, and community members will learn about the importance of a cultural foundation when applying trauma tools and tips to self care, community care and professional care in response to collective trauma and grief. The connection between trauma informed care and to substance use and recovery will be discussed in its applications to The Impacts of Colonization on Ahupuaʻa. Conceptualization, V3.0. This is the 12th session of the Māpuna Lab’s virtual summer training series Hānai Ahu which focuses on adopting cultural anchors for substance use treatment and prevention strategies. This series provides a tri-lens cultural view of substance use emphasizing “The Impacts of Colonization on Ahupuaʻa. Conceptualization, V3.0” framework that recently launched with the Hawaiʻi State Plan for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Department of Health.

What will attendees learn?

  • Participants will learn how to utilize The Impacts of Colonization on Ahupuaʻa. Conceptualization, V3.0 to understand the historical importance of the impacts of colonization on the indigenous connection to ʻāina and the disconnection to ʻāina, as it relates to substance use and recovery.
  • Participants will identify strategies related to culturally anchored trauma-informed care in response to acute, collective trauma and grief as primary prevention for substance use and mental health disparities.
  • Participants will apply trauma tips and tools to self care, community care and professional care in response to collective trauma and grief guided by the clinical expertise of a licensed clinical social worker.

Who should attend?

  • Hawaiʻi Opioid Initiative (HOI) Workgroup members
  • Social workers
  • Health care providers
  • Community members

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

Workshop Presenters

Christy Werner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who was born and raised on Maui, and has been living on Oʻahu for the past 20 years. She is a mother of two wild boys, a wife to a hard working sawyer, the daughter of a retired ER nurse mom, and construction worker dad. She has 3 siblings. Her life’s work has thus far been dedicated to helping others heal from trauma. She is a feeler of feels and a lover of humanity, despite how complicated humans can be. Her invitation to joining you all at this event is not taken lightly and she hopes her offerings are helpful.

Addressing Racial Trauma among Asian American Men through Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) – Part 1

This two-part workshop series aims to address the critical but neglected issue of race-based trauma among Asian American men particularly of East Asian origin such as Korea, Japan, and China.  It will suggest some practical strategies to promote wellness and empowerment using the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a non-pathologizing approach to therapy and skills building that emphasizes mindful acceptance and meaningful action rather than symptom reduction. This approach, alternatively known as Acceptance and Commitment Training, can also be utilized in non-clinical settings (e.g., church, temple) by practitioners who are not necessarily therapists (e.g., ministers, coaches, etc.)

Acceptance and Commitment Training is very compatible with indigenous Asian wellness practices such as mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion/wisdom traditions and can be well-suited for individuals who are less likely to seek mental health services due to stigma. When used in conjunction with communal support within an intersectional framework, ACT can be an effective approach for addressing racial trauma among Asian American men.

Who is this workshop series for?

This workshop series is for anyone interested in addressing racial trauma. You do not need to be a therapist nor an Asian American man.  This workshop can benefit coaches, ministers, community organizers, healthcare workers, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding and dealing with racial trauma within an Asian American context.

Format of the workshop series:

This workshop series will utilize a qualitative method known as autoethnography and will include a case presentation using the presenter’s own lived experience with racial trauma.

What you will learn in Part 1 (August, 29, 2023)  of this workshop:

  • Understand the basic components of racial trauma among Asian American men
  • Explore the role of language in perpetuating dangerous stereotypes
  • Learn about the six ways that individuals internalize racial trauma from a language-based (ACT) perspective

This event has passed. You can watch the replay on our YouTube, or here on the website.

download the slides here

Workshop Presenters

Phillip Cha, MFT, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years in community mental health. He holds the position of clinical supervisor at UCSF Citywide Case Management where he oversees and guides the work of intensive case management within a culture-focused milieu.

In addition, Phillip maintains a part-time private practice in San Francisco where he provides therapy services to individuals, couples, and families specializing in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a therapeutic approach that focuses on mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based action.

Phillip’s expertise in ACT has led him to offer training and consultation internationally with mental health professionals around the world. Phillip has been an adjunct faculty member at the Myanmar Clinical Psychology Consortium from 2018 to 2022.

He is passionate about exploring ways in which contextual behavioral therapies can be applied across diverse communities and contexts and in ways that promote wellness and justice particularly for those who are marginalized.