This week, Christie, Diana and Sam drop in to say hi and tease upcoming episodes for the rest of the year. Tune in to hear what themes we’ll be discussing with both new and returning guests!

Bridges Mental Health connects 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.
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Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
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This week, Diana chats with Nicole Cruz about changing careers and listening to yourself in order to live bravely and pursue your biggest goals. They talk about how to overcome your fears and move away from fear as a motivator. They also dive into how to differentiate your own beliefs from others’ and confront your inner critic with compassion.

Nicole (she/her) is a certified life and leadership coach and the CEO of Nicole Cruz Coaching, the first coaching company to cater specifically to the needs of the 1st & 2nd generation immigrant community. Through a culturally-aware and trauma-informed approach, Nicole helps folks with immigrant roots to become powerful leaders by helping them unlearn inherited generational limits, embrace their complex identities, and unleash their natural strengths.

Connect with Nicole:

• @nicolecruzcoaching
• nicolecruzcoaching.com

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

From Toni Kim (she/her): My practice embodies a holistic and integrative approach that incorporates wisdom from the world of neuroscience, as well as, more esoteric and intuitive traditions. I believe that the process of healing and the subsequent result of personal growth and transformation is a sacred and courageous journey that I feel honored to be co-facilitating and co-creating through Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) experiences. I hope to offer a loving presence and a compassionate container to allow connection to the inner wisdom that lies within all of us.

Connect with Toni:

• www.tonidkim.com
• www.innersoundcollective.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Journey Clinical

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana reunites with Dr. I-Ching Grace Hung to catch up on how Dr. Hung’s return to her motherland, Taiwan, has been so far. They talk about cultural perspectives of values, time and productivity, and relationships to family. They also share their personal experiences navigating changes and how their feelings about their identity and attitudes towards embracing uncertainty have shifted as a result.

Dr. I-Ching Grace Hung (she/her) is a licensed psychologist and coach, offering teletherapy to individuals and couples in NY, CA, and MI, and coaching services globally. Grace specializes in helping people find meaning, purpose, identity, and fulfillment through a unique lens of Buddhism + psychology, anchoring on the pursuit of self-awareness, growing deeply and intentionally, all with a dash of candidness in the face of the chaos/hilarity of life. She is currently living out her own version of a fulfilled life, featuring slow travels, remote and flexible work aligned with her purpose.

Connect with Grace on Instagram @thewakingbell and on ZenCare

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie, Diana, and Sam get together to talk about the differences between therapy and coaching, outlining what each offers and who might benefit from them. For the latter half of the episode (starts at 15:00), Sam sits down with Catherine Kim, LMHC to discuss the challenges of straddling two different cultures as an APISA-identified individual and how to navigate these multiple senses of identity.

Catherine Kim (she/her), LMHC, specializes in supporting individuals who are experiencing cultural conflicts, identity issues, relationship problems, anxiety, and depression. She is especially dedicated to challenging the stigmas that often surround mental health in Asian cultures, with the goal of encouraging more individuals in the AAPI community to prioritize their well-being and pursue a healthier life.

Connect with Catherine:

• [email protected]
• Phone: 646-481-3124

Curious to learn more about coaching? Hear from coaches themselves in our recent episodes:

• CBD/Cannabis for Anxiety & Depression with Amy Chin (released 5/31/23)
• Challenging Imposter Syndrome with Angela Kerrigan (11/16/22)
• Financial Anxiety, Scarcity, & Enoughness with Lindsay Bryan-Podvin (10/26/22)
• The Art of Authentic Dating with Samuel Shin (9/28/22)
• Taking Asian Women Seriously with Sheena Yap Chan (9/14/22)
• Surviving Burnout & Stepping Off the Corporate Ladder with Annalyn Cruz (8/31/22)
• Failing My Way Forward and Embracing Career Changes with Cynthia Pong (8/17/22)
• How to Succeed as an International Student with Dr. Vivi (1/12/22)

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam sits down with Steph Kim to chat about navigating the process of forging a fulfilling career as a person of color. They talk about how imposter syndrome especially impacts women and POC, as well as how the immigrant experience adds an additional layer of challenges in the career journey. They also discuss the importance and difficulties of finding the right balance between self-advocacy and honoring family dynamics and expectations throughout the process.

Steph Kim (she/her/hers) is a 2nd generation Korean American career coach born, and currently, in New York. She is proud to be your notsobossybestie- sharing professional secrets that your boss won’t tell you, dedicated to empowering and equipping young professionals, especially people of color, with the confidence as well as practical skills to pursue their next career step.

For anyone who listens to this podcast and uses the code “BRIDGES” will receive 20% off any service with @NotSoBossyBestie

Connect with Steph:

• Website
• @notsobossybestie

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie, Sam, and Diana get together for their last discussion about pursuing a career in mental health. They talk about post-grad life, what the path looks like after graduation, and their favorite and not-so-favorite parts about their jobs. They address the financial realities of a mental health career, pros and cons of various paths you can take, and how to assess which path might be right for you. 

For mental health professionals, recent grads and those new to the field: Join our Clinician Community!

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie chats with Tyler Mafi (@therapywithtyler) about how his transition led to the reshaping of his relationship with his family and, as a result, more open conversations around queerness and mental health. Tyler also shares how empowering his clients to reflect on their senses of self motivated him to more actively engage with his own identity. They also dive into how to balance and hold space for the needs and desires of both oneself and one’s family.

Tyler (he/him) is an NYC-based queer, trans, multicultural therapist committed to providing you a nonjudgmental, brave space to explore your identity, relationships, and sense of purpose.

Connect with Tyler:

• Website
• @therapywithtyler

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam and Diana return to the topic of pursuing a career in mental health and answer some of your questions! They cover the work they did while in graduate school, as well as the timeline and path they took from graduate school to licensure and beyond. They also share their thoughts on their programs and how they made the most of their experience.

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam sits down with Amy Chin to discuss the benefits of CBD and/or cannabis for anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. They talk about how to incorporate plant medicine into one’s routine as a way to lead a fuller, healthier, and less stressful life. They also explore the nuances of cannabinoid use as it pertains to each person, and the importance of continuing to challenge the stigmas around the use of plant medicine, especially among moms/parents and the Asian community.

As a sufferer of anxiety and postpartum depression, Amy found great relief with CBD and from that moment, led to her passion in normalizing 3 big stigmas in the Asian community: cannabis, mental health and moms consuming the plant.

Connect with Amy:

• https://calmbetterdays.co/
• @calm_better_days

Mentioned in this episode:

• Project CBD

Bridges Mental Health connects 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 Therapist
Join our Clinician Community

Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
[email protected]
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh