Beyond the Couch with Bridges

This week, Sam is joined by comedian and author Youngmi Mayer to discuss their unique experiences being biracial. While Youngmi grew up in Korea and Saipan and Sam was raised in the U.S., the two connect over memories of being othered both within and outside of their respective families, and delve into how their lives reflect larger forces of immigration, culture and privilege. Youngmi shares how her identity work influenced the writing of her upcoming memoir, "I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying," as well as her mom’s response to including raw details about her childhood and the healing effect of humor.Youngmi Mayer (she/they) is a standup comedian, content creator and author living in NYC with her son, Mino. Instagram @ymmayerTikTok @youngmimayerListen to Hairy Butthole PodcastPre-order I’m Laughing Because I’m CryingThank you to Embrace Change for sponsoring this episode!Saying No free resource: https://www.embracechange.nyc/saying-no-beyond-the-couchEmbrace Change website: https://embracechange.nyc/Don’t Stay in Your Lane: The Career Change Guide for Women of Color: https://www.embracechange.nyc/bookEmbrace Change Coaching: https://www.embracechange.nyc/career-coaching-programsFollow Embrace Change on social media:https://instagram.com/embracechangenyc/https://linkedin.com/in/embracechangenyc/https://www.youtube.com/embracechangenychttps://tiktok.com/@embracechangenyc Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

Welcome to Season 3 of Beyond the Couch! We're back with a fresh look and a revamped structure. Join us as we dive deep into a new theme each month. With May being both Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re starting off with the theme of identity. This week, Sam, Diana and Christie catch up on how transitions and travel during the break have allowed for their own exploration, and discuss what’s to come this season. Tune in every Wednesday as we explore identity, queerness, body, spirituality, and career with new and returning guests.  Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

Content warning: family abuse, sexual abuse, self-harmThis week, Christie, Sam, and Diana get together to reflect on the past year, and share which of the 104(!) podcast episodes they have recorded were some of their favorites. Then, Sam speaks with Heawon Hake about how family secrets can affect and damage a family. Heawon describes the difference between good and bad secrets, which types of secrets must be disclosed, and the types of ego defenses that result from a festering family secret.Heawon Hake (she/her), LCSW-R, ASAC, is a Korean American psychotherapist with 34 years of experience across clinical, community and nonprofit work. Her newly published memoir, Daughter of Korean Freud, is a heartbreaking and raw account of how her work as a counselor resurfaced childhood wounds and allowed her to connect with freedom and healing in the process.Connect with Heawon:www.koreanamericanpsychotherapist.comthewayofkap@gmail.comInstagram @thewayofkapMentioned in this episode:Christie’s highlighted episodes: Intergenerational Trauma & Internal Family Systems with Natalie Hung (Apple / Spotify)Ancestral Healing Work with Chi Young Kim (Apple / Spotify)Racialization and Reconnecting with Ancestors with Natalie Hung (Apple / Spotify)Sam’s highlighted episode: ADHD & Partnerships with Suzanne Eng (Apple / Spotify)Diana’s highlighted episodes: People-Pleasing and Codependency (Apple / Spotify)The Drama Triangle (Apple / Spotify)Stepping Out of the Drama Triangle ( Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana chats with Dr. Matt Poon about growing up with Asian parents, the pitfalls of perfectionism, and how we can expand our mindset to live a fuller and more balanced life. Dr. Poon shares how he helps clients slow down, reflect, and move away from binary thinking, and how talking openly about struggles or perfectionism can help us all feel supported and less alone.Dr. Matt Poon (he/him) is a licensed clinical psychologist practicing virtually in NYC. His practice specializes in working with high-performing professionals who struggle with perfectionism, work-life balance, and relationship issues.Connect with Matt:Website: www.drmattpoon.comInstagram: @drmattpoon Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie is joined by NYC-based clinical psychologist, Dr. Yun Chen, to discuss what it’s like to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help mitigate the pain that might come with living with OCD. They explore the ways in which the tenets of ACT can help people live fuller lives through learning to address and cope with negative thought patterns, as well as accept and make the best of their situation. Christie and Dr. Chen also discuss some steps for quieting an especially powerful intrusive thought and how ACT can be applicable or resonant with the Asian population.Connect with Dr. Yun Chen:cbt@dryunchen.comdryunchen.comYoutube Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana (@therapywithdiana) sits down with Pallavi Ankolekar (@healingwithpallavi) to talk about how growing up as a child of immigrants can the ways we navigate our finances. They discuss how generational differences in attitudes towards work and rest also translate into how we use money for bare necessities vs pleasure. They also talk about the guilt that can arise from using money on ourselves, and how a scarcity mindset often prevents folks with immigrant backgrounds from taking career-related risks or the space and time to slow down.Pallavi Ankolekar (she/her), LCSW, is a 1.5 generation South Asian therapist currently living in DC but licensed to practice in NY and NJ. She specializes in trauma and incorporate many different modalities including EMDR through an overall relational lens.Connect with Pallavi:Instagram @healingwithpallavihttps://www.steadynyc.com/pallavi@steadynyc.comMentioned in this episode:Ramit Sethi's How to Get Rich on Netflix Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam is rejoined by Minji (our very own Bridges intern) for the second installment of the Grad School Diaries mini-series. Minji shares updates from her second and final year of her program, what it’s been like to see clients for the first time, and the joys and challenges of practicing therapy in the real world. She also opens up about personal lessons she’s learned from being on the other side of the room as the therapist.After nearly a decade in the creative industry, Minji (she/her) is currently a counseling psychology student at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles. She is especially interested in working with Asian, Asian diasporic/immigrant individuals, couples, and families, as well those navigating interracial relationships or other cultural challenges. She loves chatting about all things mental health, career-changing, and dogs (bonus points if poodles), so don’t hesitate to connect with Minji at mkim108@gmail.com.Mentioned in the episode:Couples Therapy (Showtime)Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie sits down with Jiaming Ju to chat about the value and deep wisdom of traditional east Asian medicine. Jiaming shares how she went from her long career as a longevity economist to joining the work of her father at Kun Health. They talk about eastern medicine’s individualized approach to every person, the shortcomings of western views on health and food, and how traditional medicine can become more accessible to younger generations. They also discuss what it means to “eat your feelings, how mental stress shows up as physical ailments, and the power of reclaiming one’s culture while living in western society.Jiaming Ju is the co-founder of Kun Health, a virtual Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic, which she runs alongside her father Ying Ju. Jiaming grew up watching her father work in his TCM clinic in north-eastern China where the smell of herbs drifted through the air. After building a career leading the world’s largest data collection on senior adults from New York to Singapore, Jiaming enrolled in one of the only dual lingual TCM graduate schools in North America. Connect with Jiaming @kunhealth Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam reunites with Samuel Shin to chat about how people-pleasing shows up specifically for Asian men, and the importance of men tending to old wounds and connecting to their inner worlds. Samuel discusses his methods and techniques for helping Asian men heal, get in touch with their authentic selves, and regain their agency. He shares his thoughts on how masculinity and toxic masculinity have become conflated in the discourse of today, and how he aims to help redefine and reclaim what it means to have healthy masculinity.Samuel (he/him) is a licensed therapist, certified men’s coach and 2nd generation Korean-American. His education & training was in humanistic-existential, psychodynamic and transpersonal psychologies. However, he left the therapy field in 2018 to become a transformational coach where he has been focusing his work on Asian mental health specifically with Asian men. Samuel works 1:1 with Asian men in his coaching practice, but also runs Asian men’s groups and will be running the first-ever Asian men’s retreat in early 2024! Connect with Samuel @thehealingasianMentioned in this episode:Iron John: A Book About Men by Robert BlyKing, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie talks with Jonathan Blazon Yee, LCSW, about how his work as a psychoanalyst was first inspired by an experience of feeling deeply seen in therapy. Jonathan shares how contemporary psychoanalysis tunes into the relational worlds between client and therapist, and allows one to explore the question of “Who am I?” Together, they explore the importance of addressing differences between oneself and others especially as Asian therapists working with Asian American clients.Jonathan Blazon Yee (he/him), LCSW, is a relational psychoanalyst who works collaboratively with clients to help them understand the thought patterns, belief systems, and expectations that influence how they move through the world. He completed psychoanalytic training at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, where he currently serves on the faculty. Connect with Jonathan on Bridges.Mentioned in this episode:The Asian American Center for Psychoanalysis Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam chats with Cathay Che, LCSW, about how addiction impacts and shows up in the AAPI community. They discuss misconceptions about substance use and addiction, and how stigma and shame impact the way addiction is perceived within the AAPI population. They dive into the various ways addiction impacts the family network and how addiction can be addressed in both conventional and creative, novel ways.Cathay Che is a Japanese American and Native Hawaiian LCSW, with a virtual Private Practice treating clients in New York, California and Rhode Island.  She earned her MSW from Columbia University in 2013 and was part of the clinical treatment team at The Hazelden Betty Ford outpatient clinic in New York City from 2012 -2020. Connect with Cathay on Zencare. Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie is back with Clarice Hassan to continue their conversation about new parenthood in the AAPI community, this time focusing on fathers and paternal mental health. They talk about the different challenges that new fathers face as they try to balance their new roles with the expectations of traditional masculinity from previous generations. They explore the different ways AAPI fathers might express affection, and they discuss the relative lack of support and community for new fathers when they do have questions about infant care and how to best tend to their spouse postpartum.Clarice Hassan (she/her), LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in California and New York, running both a private practice and a growing group practice, Phronetic Psychotherapy LCSW PC. She identifies as Asian and has focused on maternity and paternity mental health, as well as parenthood transitions, especially in the past few years since becoming a parent herself. Connect with Clarice: https://www.onlinetherapyny.org/ Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie sits down with Clarice Hassan to discuss mental health within the context of new motherhood. Clarice shares how her own personal experiences of becoming a mother informed her passion to focus her work on maternity mental health. They delve into the challenges of balancing one’s aspirations and desires with the demands of this new, life-changing role. They also talk about navigating the differences in parenting values from those of the previous generation and how empowering it can be to learn, unlearn, remake, and discover new personal values along the way.Clarice Hassan (she/her), LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in California and New York, running both a private practice and a growing group practice, Phronetic Psychotherapy LCSW PC. She identifies as Asian and has focused on maternity and paternity mental health, as well as parenthood transitions, especially in the past few years since becoming a parent herself. Connect with Clarice: https://www.onlinetherapyny.org/ Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie chats with Suzanne Eng about being in partnership with someone with ADHD. They talk about the challenges and strengths that ADHD brings to the relationship, as well as the various misconceptions surrounding the diagnosis. Suzanne shares her own experiences with a spouse with ADHD, and she offers ways to help others have greater empathy, better understand, and resolve conflicts more effectively with one another in order to thrive as a couple living with ADHD.Suzanne Eng (she/her) is a wife, mother, daughter, therapist and friend. Brought up in Chicago and then moving to New York has taught her about the challenge of not just living but enjoying who she is despite difficult circumstances and to always be grateful. Connect with Suzanne:24creativearttherapy.com twentyfour24cat@gmail.com@twentyfourcatMentioned in this episode:The ADHD Effect on Marriage by Melissa OrlovADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer’s World by Thom Hartmann Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie, Diana and Sam catch up on what they’ve been up to as they enter into the fall season. They reminisce about the feelings they used to get as they started a new school year, and Christie and Diana share what they’ve been realizing through their language classes. They all discuss their evolving relationships to work and productivity, and the importance of having a sense of purpose and personal definition of success. Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana sits down with Priscilla Chin to talk about psychoanalysis, its misconceptions, and the differences between psychoanalysis and other modalities. They discuss the various techniques and interventions that are used in analysis; how it can help explore our internal worlds, past, and unconscious thoughts; and how it can empower people of color to take control of their own narratives.Priscilla Chin, LCSW (she/her) is a therapist, psychoanalyst, and a group practice owner for a culturally responsive online therapy practice in New York, New Jersey, and DC. Learn more about Priscilla at imagineemotionalwellness.com or @imagineemotionalwellness Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie, Diana, and Sam share their views on the moral and ethical questions posed in a couple therapy-related posts from Reddit’s “Am I the A*hole” thread. They discuss one person’s dilemma about sharing details from his therapy session to his concerned mother, and another case in which the poster is concerned about the changes he is noticing in his partner after she begins seeing a therapist. Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana is back with Lynn Min to talk about money and how our finances shape so much of our identity, sense of freedom, and, ultimately, our ability to return to our true selves. They discuss their relationships to money and the ways in which they’ve crafted their money stories throughout their lives.Lynn Min (she/her), LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor, a certified life coach, a pastor, and a mom of three. Connect with Lynn at lynnmin.com or @soulmattersllc Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie, Sam, and Diana talk about their relationships to each of their ancestral languages and the grief they feel from not being as fluent as they’d like. Christie and Diana share what they’ve been learning through their respective language classes and explore what it means to be connected (or not) to a culture through language. Sam reflects on her recent trip to Japan and what it meant to be able to have even some simple conversations, as well as how she’s navigated her biracial identity throughout her life.Mentioned in this episode:The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie is rejoined by Nita Batta and Tiffany Momoko Kindred to discuss what it’s like for children to try to make sense of their identity, grow up between multiple cultures, and balance individual and others’ needs. They also talk about redefining familial relationships and how to retain a sense of self and leading with curiosity as a parent.Nita Batta, LMSW | The pull lies in the strength of the familiar; the push is an urge to create space and jump into the unfamiliar. As an individual who was raised between two cultures, I offer a warm and safe space to discuss cultural competency as it relates to your life. Connect with Nita at nita@agoodplacetherapy.comTiffany Momoko Kindred, LMSW | Being biracial and bicultural, I understand the complexities of holding multiple identities. I walk alongside individuals and couples to help them explore and gain an understanding of how their past has led them to their present, and how they want to move from the present into a happier, more fulfilling future. Connect with Tiffany at tiffany@agoodplacetherapy.com Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.Find a TherapistJoin our Clinician Community Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.@bridgesmentalhealthbridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.combuymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh