Clinical Leaders from Our Center Selected as Future Leaders in Prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program

Boston, Massachusetts (Oct 20, 2020): Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness (CCCSEW) Director Justin Chen, MD, MPH, and Associate Director Juliana Chen, MD, have been selected as fellows in the 2020-2023 cohort of the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Clinical Scholars (CS) Program. Along with colleagues from the nonprofit organization United Chinese Americans (UCA), Dr. Chen and Dr. Chen will tackle their joint project titled, “Breaking Silences in the Model Minority: A National Intervention to Increase Mental Health Awareness and Decrease Stigma in Asian Immigrant Families.”

The Clinical Scholars is a highly selective national program that supports teams of experienced health care providers to sharpen their leadership skills and collaborate on a project to address complex health problems, with the ultimate goal of creating more just and thriving communities. Fellows collaborate on a three-year community project aimed to address the root causes of inequality in health.

“We are thrilled and grateful to receive this critically needed support from the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Asian Americans are the most understudied racial/ethnic group in the peer reviewed health literature, and mental health is one of the most significant challenges for this community,” said Justin Chen, who also serves as the Medical Director of Ambulatory Psychiatry at MGH and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. “Our Center looks forward to strengthening our collaboration with UCA to tackle the pressing problem of Asian American youth mental health and suicides and to make an impact in families and communities around the country.”

Juliana Chen, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at MGH and Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH), shares Dr. Chen’s commitment to reducing stigma and educating students and families. “Knowing the prevalence of mental health disorders and increased suicide risk of Asian youth and yet so infrequently seeing Asian American youth present for mental health treatment, motivates us to pursue these critically-needed interventions.” As one of the executive producers of the documentary film, “Looking for Luke,” Dr .Chen has been engaged in narrative multimedia public education initiatives about mental health issues, with a particular focus on Asian American families, and will be bringing this background to the Breaking Silence’s team’s work. She additionally serves as co-director of The Resilience Project Parents Program at NWH and a part-time instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Cultural stigma and lack of understanding about mental health in the Asian American community often prevent adolescents struggling with depression and/or other mental health issues from seeking help. These challenges are exacerbated by shortages in accessible, culturally sensitive providers in the mental health system. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded strains on youth mental health due to social isolation and an increase in racially motivated discriminaion and assaults. To address these many challenges, the Breaking Silences Project will aim in part to develop culturally-tailored, evidence-informed interventions focused on improving parent-child communication, mental health awareness, and stigma reduction within Asian immigrant families.

In addition to Drs. Chen and Chen, the Breaking Silences Team includes Lily Chen, RN, MA, CNE, Lecturer at North Carolina Central University Department of Nursing and Senior Advisor at United Chinese Americans (UCA), and Weiyang Xie, Clinical Psychologist at the University of Notre Dame and Consulting Psychologist at UCA. UCA is a nonprofit grassroots organization focused on promoting civic engagement in the Chinese American community. The Clinical Scholars Program will provide US $432,000 in funding over the next three years to support the group’s project.

麻省总医院“跨文化学生情绪健康中心”两位负责人荣获著名罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊基金会项目基金支持_新闻稿

研究项目“打破沉默”目标是提高亚裔家庭对于青少年心理健康的意识

波士顿，马萨诸塞州（2020年10月20日）：本院“跨文化学生情绪健康中心”主任、精神科医学总监JUSTIN CHEN 博士，与该中心副主任，儿童和青少年精神科医生JULIANA CHEN博士被选中参加著名的罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊基金会 （Robert Wood Johnson Foundation）2020-2023 年临床学者研究团队。两位将与非营利组织美国华裔联合会的同事一起，共同研究这个名为“打破沉默：提高亚裔家庭的心理健康意识和减少亚裔污名的国家干预”的项目。

罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊基金会临床学者计划是一项全国范围内竞争激烈的计划，旨在培养医疗服务提供者的领导力，并开展一个合作解决复杂健康问题的项目，最终目标是建立更公正和繁荣的社区。研究人员将开展为期三年的社区项目，以期找到健康领域不平等的根本原因。

“我们为收到罗伯特·伍德·约翰逊临床学者计划的支持感到非常高兴和感激。同行评审的医疗文献表明，美国亚裔是最被忽视的种族/族裔群体，其中最重大的挑战之一是对亚裔群体心理健康的了解，”Justin Chen 陈志佳博士是本院精神病学门诊主任，同时为哈佛医学院的助理教授，“我们中心希望加强与美国华人联合会的合作，以解决亚裔青少年心理健康和自杀这一紧迫问题，为美国家庭和亚裔群体带来改变。”

Juliana Chen 博士在本院及牛顿韦尔斯利医院担任儿童及青少年精神科医师。她和陈志佳博士一同致力于减少污名，教育学生和家庭，“我们了解亚裔青少年心理健康障碍的患病率，他们的自杀风险在增加，却很少看到他们接受心理健康治疗，这些现状激励我们从事这项迫切需要的干预。”作为纪录片《寻找卢克》的执行制片人之一，陈博士一直致力于通过叙事多媒体开展有关心理健康问题的公共教育活动，着重聚焦美国亚裔家庭，并将把这一背景带到打破沉默小组的工作中。此外，她还是牛顿韦尔斯利医院弹性父母项目的联合主任，在哈佛医学院担任精神病学兼职讲师。

在不少亚裔家庭和群体中，心理健康的污名化以及对心理健康缺乏了解，常常使得青少年无法寻求帮助。心理健康系统中可获得的、对文化敏感服务提供者的短缺加剧了这些挑战。同时，COVID-19新冠疫情所导致的社交孤立、出于种族动机的歧视和攻击的增加，也对亚裔家庭造成了更大的心理负担。为了应对这些挑战，打破沉默项目的部分目标是开发针对亚裔文化的、有证据的干预措施，重点改善亚裔家庭的亲子交流、增强心理健康意识和减少亚裔污名感。

打破沉默项目的成员还包括北卡罗来纳中央大学护理系讲师、美国华人联合会高级顾问Lily Chen女士以及美国圣母大学临床心理学家、美国华人联合会咨询心理学家谢维扬博士合作。美国华人联合会是一个非营利性组织，致力于促进美国华人社区的公民参与。基金会将在未来3年内提供43.2万美元的资金，以支持该研究项目。