Ep 93 | A Discussion with Dr. Eunice Yuen About Asian American Mental Health

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Unfortunately, suicide is a very real issue for the Asian American community. According to the Office of Minority Health, in 2017 the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is passionate about promoting emotional wellness and a prevention model for mental health.

Dr. Eunice Yuen is, a child and adult psychiatrist who specializes in Asian American mental health. She sat down to speak to me about the stigma of mental health and the reluctance of Asian Americans to seek help. Dr. Yuen noted that prevention through mindfulness of emotional wellness are especially important for teenagers and young adults, which is the age at which mental illness often first manifests.

Dr. Yuen is working on an innovative tool called CHATogether that helps to resolve conflicts between Asian American parents and children. More than ever, tools like CHATogether are useful to address heightened child-parent conflicts during COVID-19, and discussions about racism. Please note that any of the advice or content shared in the episode is not meant to be taken as medical advice or psychiatric treatment.

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• Why Dr. Yuen decided to enter the field of child and adult psychiatry and where her special interest in promoting emotional wellness in the Asian American community comes from
• The difference between emotional wellbeing and a mental health issue
• How building emotional resilience is important to help deal with everyday stress
• How daily routines and structure is important for emotional wellbeing especially during the Coronavirus pandemic
• How to identify when someone is dealing with a mental health issue and needs to seek help
• Some individuals may display physical symptoms e.g. a stomachache, diarrhea, headache, while being able to function
• What should you do if you think that someone you know (e.g. a friend or family member) is in need of help with a mental health issue
• What the project Dr. Yuen CHATogether is about
• How CHATogether is based on a paper published by Brazilian theater director, Augusto Boal in the 1980s called "Theater of the Oppressed"
• What ages CHAT has been developed for
• The concept of mentalization
• The CHATogether community
• What type of feedback CHATogether has gotten from its' participants
• How Chatogether has addressed child-parent conflict during COVID-19, talking about Black Lives Matter and racism
• The concept of regulating emotions
• The 3 R's: Recognize your emotions, Realize where the emotions are coming from, Regulate your emotions
• The importance of labeling your emotions and talking about your feelings
• How to overcome the stigma of mental health within the Asian American community

Related Links:

Dr. Eunice Yuan's bio: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/eunice_yuen/

CHATogether website: https://yale.edu/chatogether/

CHATogether Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CHATogetherWithUs/

CHATogether Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRX2Nzv65ekzHikAaiyG6YQ

QR Code to connect to Cchatogether on social media:

A bio of Augusto Boal, the Brazilian dramatist who created the Theatre of the Oppressed:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Boal

An article about Theater of Oppressed in medical education:

http://www.ijme.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1909-5.pdf

Yale School of Medicine Magazine article about CHATogether: https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/chating-about-problems-before-they-turn-toxic/

Woodblock press article about CHATogether: https://www.woodblock-press.com/asianvoices/chatting-through-vignettes-with-dr-eunice-yuen