Welcome to Season 4, Episode 35! We often read to learn new information or to be entertained (or both). But we also love reading to improve ourselves, which is what we did with The Conscious Style Guide by Award-winning Editor and Author Karen Yin (S04E22). Today’s guest is Dr. Helen Hsu, whose new book is The Healing Trauma Workbook for Asian Americans published by New Harbinger. It was released in July and is informative, inspirational, and empowering. Dr. Hsu accomplishes that by creating an easy-to-use workbook that is segmented into concepts with an activity or question to make you reflect deeply and consider solutions. We really enjoyed going through the workbook and learned a lot about ourselves and how we react to stressors. 

Dr. Helen Hsu is a clinical psychologist, educator, and author, and she is currently the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Director of Outreach, and a lecturer at Stanford University. With more than 20 years of experience through K-12 public schools, private practice, geriatric care, hospice, university counseling, and community-based health center, Helen also founded Hella Mental Health… an organization that’s devoted to nourishing the overall well-being and mental health of BIPOC communities through education and empowerment. 

Hella is dedicated to lifelong learning of cultural humility and works with an anti-racist, LGBTQ+ affirming perspective. The workbook is the same way, which is apparent as you go through the activities and questions in it. Whether you realize it or not, so many people of AANHPI descent have experienced trauma in their backgrounds, and leveraging The Healing Trauma Workbook for Asian Americans can be a significant step towards healing and change. 

In our conversation, we talk about Dr. Helen Hsu’s background, the decision to create a workbook, the inspiration for Hella Mental Health, how intergenerational trauma works, the use of mantras, and so much more. We hope you go out and get The Healing Trauma Workbook for Asian Americans, visit Hella Mental Health, or follow her work on Instagram or YouTube. 

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