Cindy H
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Columbia University
Expertise
Counseling psychology, minority youth and families, immigrant mental health, adolescent mental health and risk factors, Asian American mental health, cultural identity, bilingualism, parent-child relationships and intergenerational conflict, academic/research writing
Bio
Hi everyone! My name is Cindy, and I was born to Chinese immigrant parents and raised in San Francisco, CA. I did my BA in Psychology and Communication (double minored in English and Education!) at UC Davis. I also completed an MA in Education at UC Berkeley and started teaching 12th grade English at a public high school for immigrant students. After getting to know my students and their stories of resilience, I decided to change careers. I completed an MEd and MA in Mental Health Counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University, and I stuck around to work on a PhD degree! I like to joke that I enjoy collecting degrees... but this academic journey has been really eye-opening and rewarding to better understand the experiences of my immigrant parents and students. In my free time, I love reading, writing, hiking, eating good food, and watching Korean dramas (would love new recommendations). I'm very passionate about serving the Chinese immigrant community, and I love being able to discuss shared experiences with other children of immigrants from all backgrounds. As a mentor, I hope to support you in your learning and growth. I try to get a good sense of where you're at to determine how to best challenge you to grow and move on to the next step of your project/goals. I am also very particular about research and writing (I used to be an English teacher!), so if you want to grow in these areas, then I'm excited to work with you! If you're interested in the work that I do at my research lab, here's the website (please note, my advisor has the same exact name as me, so don't get confused!): https://www.champtc.org/Project ideas
Asian American Mental Health
What are the cultural factors that impact mental health for Asian Americans? In our work together, we can think through your specific interest in Asian American mental health and explore how various systemic, cultural, historical, and social factors impact Asian Americans in this country today.
Cultural Identity Exploration
What are your cultural identities? How well do you feel like you know/understand your cultural identities? I will be guiding you to look more deeply into your cultural identities and the ways these identities might influence your behaviors, passions, professional interests, etc. You can turn this personal exploration into a blog, website, etc.! I'm open to your ideas for exploration, and I'll work with you to accomplish your goals.
Design a Research Study on Immigrant/Minority Mental Health
Do you have a research question related to immigrant/minority mental health issues? Are you stuck on where to begin? I will guide you through developing your own research study based on your research question. We will develop working hypotheses together and devise a research plan for you to implement. This can become a literature review paper, a correlational study, etc., and I can guide you through the process of getting the paper published if that is part of your goal.