Vital

mgh.cccsew

mghstudentwellness

MGH Student Wellness

We are a diverse and dedicated team of volunteers hoping to expand knowledge about mental health topics in Asian cultures.

Our goal is to produce an educational video series in different languages centered on mental health topics and their connection to Asian cultures. Recognizing how people live and communicate differently across cultures, we wanted to create a culturally adapted series to emphasize the importance of mental health and promote equity and respect for all.

We hope the creation of these videos will make these topics accessible to non-English speakers, while also advocating for a deeper understanding of mental health and combating the stigma surrounding such topics in Asian communities.

Our Videos

Our Team

Justin Chen, MD, MPH

As Executive Director and Co-Founder of the MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness, Dr. Chen delivers talks and trainings for families, clinicians, and educators throughout the United States on promoting the emotional health and psychological resilience of diverse student populations. As a practicing clinical psychiatrist, Dr. Chen specializes in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders in young adults, and he serves as Medical Director of Ambulatory Psychiatry and Co-Director of Primary Care Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also dedicated to teaching and mentorship, serving as Co-Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry and Co-Director/core faculty in the Mind, Brain, and Behavior pre-clinical neurosciences course at Harvard Medical School. An Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, his research focuses primarily on cross-cultural psychiatry, stigma, racial/ethnic disparities in mental health service utilization, and medical education.

Juliana Chen, MD

Dr. Chen is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and an Executive Member of the MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness, as well as an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is executive producer of the short documentary film “Looking for Luke,” which she produced in collaboration with The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at MGH, to reduce stigma and educate students and families, in particular Asian American families, about mental health issues. Dr. Chen received her BA from the University of Rochester, and her MD from the Yale School of Medicine. She completed her adult psychiatry residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, and Boston Children’s Hospital as part of the combined Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program, and she completed her child and adolescent psychiatry training at MGH and McLean Hospital.

Jolie Hoang

Jolie (she/her) is a second-year student in the MA Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. With a multicultural upbringing, Jolie recognizes the diverse lifestyles and beliefs of people around her and wants to dedicate her future works to bridge the gap between cultures' communication and understanding. Through her experience hosting a TEDx event and researching at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, she developed the idea to create this multilingual psychoeducational video series to equip the general public with a communication toolkit surrounding mental health. Jolie aspires to become a clinical psychologist specializing in cross-cultural psychology, brain connectivity, and mental health education.

Marketing Team

English Team

Neiva Teka

Neiva (she/her) is a second-year student in the Clinical Psychology Masters program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her focus is on child and adolescent psychology, and she aspires to become a child and adolescent clinical psychologist. Through her work in a clinical and research setting, she became very interested in using technology as a tool in mental health and particularly its benefits as a messenger of psychoeducation.

Dre Sacaguing

Dre (he/him) has always been an advocate for mental health but has been pretty limited in opportunities in being able to help. His options were research labs and waiting until he finished graduate school in order to make an impact. After reading about this project, he thought this was a fantastic way to help Asian communities break down the stigma with mental health, especially individuals who are struggling with a language barrier when accessing mental health resources. He would be more than happy if it helps just one person; whether that be through education or making them feel less lonely.

Lisa Berson

Elizaveta (she/her) is a Research Assistant at Genetic department of Harvard Medical School and has a BS degree in Medical and Molecular Biology from MCPHS University. She is passionate about human health, both physical and mental. Working as a Research Assistant, and volunteering at multiple major Boston hospitals made her realize how prevalent mental illnesses are. Being born and raised in Russia, she understands and appreciates cultural differences as well as the importance of eradicating the social stigma around mental health.

Marie Kung

Marie (she/her) is a rising junior in a high school. She has been involved with the center through various projects, and especially working closely with the social media team. From a young age, she has seen many of her peers experience poor mental health induced by the stress of school, sports, and other commitments, as well as added stress from their parents. She has seen many students, even as young as 11 or 12, suffer in silence because they are afraid to ask for help. Because of this, she is passionate about getting others the help they need and breaking the stigma around mental health. Marie is also involved in social justice organizations, plays tennis, and runs track and field for her high school.

Mandarin Team

Runqin Shi

Runqin (she/her) is a second-year student in MA Clinical Psychology Program at TC and a video grapher in this project team. She would like to study how to encourage people to recognize their needs for mental health care, promote access to resources, as well as advocate for public awareness in my future research. This video series program will help her further approach her goal of effectively addressing the needs of people such as Asians fearing social stigma and unable to access the help they require.

Ethan Wu

Ethan (he/him) is a second-year clinical psychology student at Teachers College, Columbia University. As an international student from China, one of his research focuses is understanding etiological differences and disparities among treatment effectiveness from a cross-cultural perspective. Furthermore, he is striving to connect research with practice together: with an intern experience at a psychological clinic in China, he witnessed how cultural backgrounds may impede therapies and other barriers in introducing research results into daily practice.

Yingjing Zhao

Yingjing Zhao (She/her) graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is now a first-year student in the TESOL program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is very interested in education and psychology, and she understands how important it is to foster students’ interest in learning as well as their healthy development on campus. By taking part in this program, she hopes to help more Asian international students become more aware of their mental health.

Advisors & Organizer

Zoey (she/her) is currently an Admissions Enrollment Manager at Spark Prep, a boutique educational company based in Hanoi, Vietnam. Having worked with many students struggling with mental health issues and observed the lack of access to mental health services in Vietnam, Zoey aspires to get training to become a psychotherapist, providing counseling services for people in need, especially adolescents and young adults. She is also passionate about destigmatizing discussions around mental health and hopes that she can help promote mental health awareness in the Vietnamese community through Vital.

Tien Than

Tien (he/him) graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. As an electronic engineer but curious field of mind. Love exploring yourself and the world. Empathize with individuals suffering from lack of psychological understanding leading to discrimination and labeling. Caring for autistic children, loneliness of old age, meaningless life. Through the project, he wishes to contribute to building and spreading psychological insights, thereby bringing happiness to the community.

Trang Nguyen

Trang (she/her) graduated from the VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Growing up in Vietnam, she acknowledges that mental health has not received proper attention despite how important mental health and seeking professional help for the sake of one's mental health is. Through our project, she wishes to promote public knowledge and awareness about mental health.

Thuy Pham

Thuy (she/her) is a 4th-year student in BA of Science, majoring in Psychology in Canada. She is a General Medical student in Debrecen, Hungary, and because of some problems, she had to quit and transfer to Canada to finish my BA in Psychology. She is optimistic and prefers having a peaceful life, however, until now my life journey has been a bit challenging, especially in my studying. Actually, during my difficult time, she felt that mental health is important, and it controls your happiness, and your working efficiency and also can change your personality. This is also a reason why I chose psychology. She would like to encourage people who are suffering from mental illness like me and moreover, she want to further in this field to understand more about people's minds.

Anh Nguyen

Anh (she/her) is a psychology graduate at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Through learning and researching, she has gained insight into the struggle that others face behind their "healthy" daily facade. And so, she wishes to assist others in alleviating their difficulties and potentially achieving some type of happiness in their lives. As someone who has always been interested in different cultures around the world, she is aware of the effects of each culture on one’s mental health. She hopes that through the project, people will gain a better understanding of themselves and be able to take action to cope with and prevent further distress.

Lan Kpa

Lan (she/her) is a second-year student in the Public Relations program at HCMC University of Economics and Finance (UEF). I love to learn from different ways of life and opinions represented in our multicultural environment. All of us have experienced many ups and downs in several periods of our life, so being conscious of mental health is essential to get through hard times. The project made me impressed by spreading the power of mental health to the Asian community with deep insights into their culture. My mission is to establish the right mindset about emotional wellness for youngsters in Vietnam and to limit the social stigma around mental health victims. I will do my best as the Vietnamese PR Liaison and make a great impact on the society.

Chloe Hoang

Chloe (she/her) is a first-year student in the clinical MSW program at Boston College and intern at MIT Student Support Service. As someone who identifies as a third culture kid, Chloe has the opportunity to learn and cross reference ideas and believes from different cultures where she lives and studies. Her diverse background and upbringing in a society where mental health is still a repressed subject has motivated her to be part of a team that can advocate for it. Chloe hopes that this project can either become a resource or conversation starter for our audience across different cultures about the importance of mental health.

Thuyen Dang

Thuyen (she/her) graduated from Psychology Department. She is volunteering as a translator for TED. Besides, she is working at Ho Chi Minh City Child Welfare Association, where she plays a role in the Fundraising and Communication team. As a child growing up in a small village in a rural area in Vietnam, she knows the difficulties of those children. Particularly, she used to lack necessary information related to mental health. That is the reason why she wants to be part of social organizations or projects such as Vital, in order to join hands in spreading psychological knowledge to the community.

Trang Khong

Trang (she/her) graduated with a major in Psychology from Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (HCM USSH). She is a fan of attachment theory and believes that the need to be loved and cared for can make a significant impact on the lives of all people. She desires to work with people and make a small contribution to raising awareness about the importance of mental wellbeing, particularly in Asian and Vietnamese communities, where mental health knowledge is not as highly valued as it should be.

Finance Team

Neha (she/her) is a second-year MA student studying Clinical Psychology with a focus on Technology and Psychotherapy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Growing up in India discussions around mental health were considered taboo and seeking help was greatly stigmatized. Thus, she aims to change this perception and make mental healthcare accessible to all. She hopes this series is able to spark conversation and break down the barriers surrounding mental healthcare.

Neha Mistry

Ye (she/her) is a second-year MA in Clinical Psychology student at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.S. degree in Clinical Psychology and B.A. degree in Economics from University of California, San Diego. As a Chinese international student, she has experienced the challenge from the cultural inconsistencies between the Chinese and American culture. She has seen many of her fellow Chinese international students struggling the same difficulties and she always tries to support them.

Ye Song

Media Production

Tianyue Gao

Tianyue (she/her) is a passionate clinical psychology student who believes in the power of psychology. She aspire to use the science of psychology to treat complex mental health issues and promote positive changes in social justice among all communities. Through our project, she wishes to promote resilience and help people discover their strength during this challenging time.

Muhammed Hamed

Muhammed (he/him) is studying petroleum engineering and is freelance filmmaker, completely two different paths but they perfectly unleash his passion. He is responsible for video editing of the project.

Sabrina Zhou

Sabrina (she/her) is currently a second-year Master student in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She aspires to become a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist in the future. Sabrina moved to the US from China at 14, and since then, she has noticed many differences in such as social work, healthcare, psychological services, special education services, etc., across the two countries. Sabrina would like to use her knowledge and her voice to help bridge the gap between the two societies, starting with Vital!

Jay Panchal

Jay (he/him) is an animator, designer, and an alive human being. As a storyteller, Jay recognizes the impact well-told stories have. He believes that creating a better world requires us to identify what story we find ourselves operating in, take ownership as the directors of our own stories, and apply conscious choices to our lives in order to shift our stories. Our actions today have forward-rippling consequences for the coming generations, and it is vital that each of us takes full ownership of our own stories. Jay brings this approach to his animation and design work. Jay finds it humorous to write in third person.

Zoey Nguyen

Vietnamese Team

Alumni

Isabella Dalmacio

Isabella (she/her) is a second-year Clinical Psychology MA student at Teachers College, Columbia University, who has also lived in Dallas, Texas and Seattle, Washington. Isabella is very passionate about equity and justice within the field of psychology, including the accessibility of resources and the intergenerational impact of colonization and imperialism on mental health. She hopes to one day become a clinical psychologist offering holistic, accessible, and culturally competent care for disenfranchised communities.

Hye Won Cho

Hye Won (she/her) is currently a clinical psychology master's student at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology at Bucknell University where she became interested in how one’s identity and experiences affect mental disorders and resilience. As a Korean American, she is also passionate in promoting mental health and community empowerment and how open dialogue can reduce stigma in Asian communities. In her free time, she likes to listen to music, take pictures, and watch horror movies.

Layne Novotny

Layne (she/her) is a second-year student in the clinical psychology master’s program at Teachers College, Columbia University. With a research background in both clinical and social psychology, she is working as a dedicated researcher for the team. She has a passion for destigmatizing mental illness and increasing the availability of mental health services within underserved populations. She hopes to become a clinical psychology researcher with a focus on studying the clinical implications and risk factors of mental health issues in adolescents and young adults.

Siyu Liu

Siyu (she/her) is an MA candidate in Clinical Psychology, Teachers College. She loves photography and enjoys exploring small shops down the streets when visiting a new town. She is kind of new to the field of psychology, and is still trying to figure out her interests. But Siyu is definitely interested in positive psychology and developmental psychology of children and adolescents. She has heard of many people who refuse to get the help they need because of the stigma of mental health in China, so she really wants to learn how to improve this, and how culture would play a role in this process.

Jonathan (he/him) is a 2nd-year in Sheridan College's Honours Bachelour of Animation. He values storytelling in media and recognizes its capacity to impact people across communities. To that end, representation and elevation of marginalized people is an essential part of his creative goals. As the animator for this series, he aims to provide a sense of story and appeal to connect with a culturally diverse audience and encourage them to examine their relationships with mental health and the Asian cultures they are connected to.

Jonathan Chen

Tanvi Verma

Tanvi (she/her) is currently a second-year clinical psychology MA student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Aspiring to pursue a career in pediatric psychology, Tanvi’s research interests focus on the intersectionality of health disparities affecting historically underrepresented children and families. She is passionate about increasing cultural awareness and is delighted to join the missions of Vital.

Kevin Lu

Kevin (he/him) is a second year student in the Master Clinical Psychology program at Columbia University, Teachers College. He works primarily as a researcher in psychosis and dementia, so hopes to transfer some of the knowledge into this project. His role in this project is as a member of the financial lead team, where he will be responsible for grant applications, and sponsorship outreach. He is very excited to be a part of this project, and it is his genuine honor to be able to contribute.

Clare Redden

Clare (she/her) is currently a master’s student at Teachers College, Columbia University in the Psychology in Education program. Her dual concentrations are Global Mental Health & Trauma, and Sexuality, Women, & Gender. She is very interested in exploring how culture informs resilience. Clare graduated a year early with a B.A. from Vassar College, and had a career in documentaries as an archival producer and editor, before returning to school.

Leo Cooper

Leo (he/him) is a second-year Clinical Psychology MA student at TC. He received a BA in Biology from Brown University in 2017 and is interested in the project because the space it occupies is less well explored than it deserves to be. His future aspirations include getting a PsyD and running his own clinic.

Tien Bui

Tien (she/her) is currently a 4th year PharmD student at MCPHS University. She has been working as a Vietnamese translator for TED as well as Community HealthEd. Besides school, she also volunteers at the retail pharmacy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She will be taking part in Vital as a researcher and Vietnamese scriptwriter.

Chris Jang

Chris (he/him) is a 3rd year student at the Design + Environmental Analysis program at Cornell University. He will be working primarily on branding and to provide the project with a coherent, recognizable identity. He hopes to help increase awareness on the importance of mental health in Asian-American communities through his work for this project.