Abstract:
The mental health needs of people of color are largely invisible because they underutilize mental health services and are not the focus of research. These mental health utilization disparities have persisted for at least six decades. Neither evidence-based treatments nor culturally-adapted treatments adequately address the individual needs of people of color. People of color may not use mental health services because services are not: (a) personally relevant; or (b) accessible. Our neuroscience data suggest that pragmatic, problem-solving approaches are the most personally relevant for Asian Americans, the least likely ethnic group to use mental health services. In this talk, I discuss the development of the Mind Boba app to make psychotherapy more personally relevant and accessible to Asian Americans.
About Dr. Gordon C. Nagayama Hall:
Dr. Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, former Professor of Psychology at Kent State University and Pennsylvania State University, and psychologist at Western State Hospital in Washington state. Dr. Hall recently retired from the University of Oregon, leaving behind his esteemed position as a Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of Research in the Center on Diversity and Community. Dr. Hall received his B.S. in psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle in 1977, and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1982. Since obtaining his degree, Dr. Hall has made remarkable contributions to the field of psychology through extensive leadership and scholarship.
Early in his career, Dr. Hall studied sexually aggressive behavior in offenders and college populations. This led to multiple publications in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s that further examined cultural considerations associated with sexual aggression. Dr. Hall’s later research focused on cultural factors associated with mental and physical health, particularly involving Asian Americans. Much of this work focused on cultural adaptations of psychotherapy to reduce mental health disparities. Dr. Hall’s research in these areas was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) through the Asian American Center on Disparities Research.
Dr. Hall has served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on other grants from NIMH, receiving over $1 million in research funding. He currently has NIMH funding to develop the Mind Boba problem-solving therapy app for Asian Americans. Through his research endeavors, he has had over 100 peer-reviewed papers published which were cited more than 13,000 times. Dr. Hall also wrote the first textbook on Multicultural Psychology, which is now in its 4th edition. He formerly served as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and as Editor-in-Chief of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.
Dr. Hall’s numerous service contributions to the field include serving on the APA Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training and as a member of APA’s Council of Representatives. Dr. Hall previously served as the President of both the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) and the APA Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (Division 45). His contributions to these associations earned him both the AAPA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Division 45 Distinguished Career Contributions to Research Award. Other honors include the Stanley Sue Award for Distinguished Contributions to Diversity from the APA Division of Clinical Psychology (Division 12) and an APA Presidential Citation for his extraordinary leadership in advancing multicultural psychology.
In sum, through Dr. Hall’s extensive leadership and research contributions he has emerged as an influential figure in promoting diversity, inclusivity, and multiculturalism in both academic and other professional settings.
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