In my entire childhood, I was abused sexually, physically, and psychologically. My mother, sisters, and I were battered by my narcissistic, abusive, and alcoholic father. Even when we lacked protections as children, my sisters and I tried to rescue my mother. I didn't understand the cultural-generational trauma cycle of mental illness, abuse, addictions, and female disempowerment. I escaped into a destructive lifestyle until 33 years of age, without realizing I was running from intense trauma that needed healing and attention. I could have died many times but God saved me. For 16 years, I was addicted to methamphetamines, cocaine, crack, alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana. I lived a dangerous lifestyle and behavioral addictions. The challenges I faced addicted to drugs were maintaining a good job, staying in college, and having good overall health. I lacked loving relationships I deserved, healthy role models who believed in me, trauma care, financial responsibility, good friends, and self-respect/self-love. I lacked boundaries and protections, and subjected myself to abuse. I needed hope and strength. I became educated that the many men who took advantage while I was under the influence constituted rape. I remember how lonely I felt, not knowing how to communicate my needs, emotions, and thoughts. I was clueless of my amazing potential, even when the signs were present. I needed a healthy family, healthy communication, nurture/love, healthy discipline, and people to look up to, trust, and confide in. I needed protections and people to look out for me. Out of all places, I became sober overnight in Las Vegas from 6 drugs simultaneously in 2013, from a very frightening hallucination on methamphetamines. The hallucination, harmful situations, realizing I was alone, and God is what transformed me for a 360-degree turnaround. The struggles in recovery include living with bipolar disorder/PTSD. I make conscious efforts today with therapy, spirituality, extracurricular activities, academics, new goals, and positive people to continue forward. My mental struggles beneath the overachievements are painful, but I have happiness as my true strength and enjoy making others laugh. Romantic relationships are painful due to sexual trauma, but I embrace connectedness in diverse ways for meaning in life. I never give up on love, my true strength and hope. Today, I am 13.5 years sober and a 5th-year PhD student becoming a Doctor of Medical Psychology. I gained 8+ years of experience working as a psychotherapist/licensed drug addiction counselor supervisor. I am a leader making a positive difference and supporting goals/dreams. My pain is for a purpose, so I never give up and use the resilience I channel to build myself and others up. As a 2nd-degree Taekwondo black belt, I will volunteer as a Taekwondo clinical therapist to empower victims. I travel globally, honoring my inner child who loves history, cultures, geography, and languages. I'm learning my 5th language, French, and also becoming an ordained minister. I will volunteer as a doctor to help at-risk youth globally. I resumed figure skating and musicianship in sobriety to stay sober. The impact I hope to have is saving lives giving encouragement, inspiration, hope, strength, and love for self and others. I teach to never give up by using pain as advantages to thrive, not just survive. I hope to help others use trauma as a set up for better, not set back because barriers are opportunities and nothing is wasted. My mission is helping people overcome the repression that limits them and instead empower the truth of their worth. We're stronger together and can overcome stigma. I believe every person's purpose is to make this world better, so I always look out for others.

When reflecting back on 45 years of life, I cannot help but remember so many traumatic experiences, such as childhood trauma of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. I also am an overcomer of partner abuse. I also cannot help but thank my Higher Power, God, who strengthened me to use adversity and mental disability as an advantage, to live as an overcomer, to build resilience, to use the past to spring forward rather than set me back, and to achieve the success in life I deserve. Realizing this as I progressed to advance in life and well-being, my philosophy became that barriers are opportunities. The perceived barriers we face as we age remind us that we are overcomers, and it is a beautiful process. The only hope I had was to look up when I felt the pit of the hopeless rock bottom. At that point, the only direction was up, and the climb wasn't alone. Thus, I advocate for others in their passions. I overcame 16 years of drug addictions overnight, from all 6 drugs, which stirred something within me - a passionate fire that rose from the rubble to spring forward. I channeled pain into determination/persistence to never waste potential again and be victorious, not a victim, as a purpose. This shows up in goal-oriented actions with academics, career, recovery, athleticism, musicianship, inspiring others, healthy relationships, gaining therapeutic and spiritual healing, and making significant life changes. I couldn't do all this without my Higher Power, who strengthens me and makes everything possible. I am passionate about healthy connections and helping others because I was given a chance at life. Giving up is no longer an option, and we are always stronger together. I believe there is always a way to connect with someone's heart to save lives. Future plans include volunteering for global missions to help disadvantaged youth. I do not allow my mental disability to limit me. After many years of effort, I was not able to get married and have children, but I know my loving nature and love for children will not be wasted. My life experiences led me to value myself and others, to give hope, and to be an encouraging role model who enjoys bringing laughter because I needed it growing up. As a 5th-year PhD student of counseling psychology, my career aspirations are to continue adding to my 8 years of work in the mental health and drug addiction treatment field. I plan for leadership positions. After obtaining my PhD, I will pursue a postdoctoral residency to train as a Doctor of Medical Psychology to provide more effective biopsychosocial treatments for patients. This includes cultural competence to foster stronger practitioner-patient connections. My 2nd master's degree in clinical psychopharmacology will allow me to prescribe psychiatric medicine in 7 US states. My commitment to community service includes innovative overall healthcare and providing what I needed as a patient: empathy, psychoeducation on mental health and psychiatric medications, cultural competence, affordability for quality care, and patient rights for optimal patient care. Studying psychology helped me learn that we are all subconsciously driven by our deepest fears, drives, motives, and ambitions. I am grateful that my 13+ years of recovery have led me to see the truth about who I am rather than the lie that I am not enough. This scholarship will help me succeed in my dissertation phase, which begins in 1.5 months. My dissertation topic addresses barriers to mental health care. The scholarship will help me focus on my studies as I navigate financial hardships resulting from the sacrifices required to become a doctor.

My name is Annes Chu. I'm a 45-year-old healthcare worker, resilient doctoral student, and the first person in my family to work in healthcare. After overcoming 16 years of addiction, my 13 years of sobriety have prioritized my 8 dimensions of health to better advocate for healthy lifestyles. My hope became to improve lives while healing as a patient through a lifetime of psychological, psychiatric, and medical treatments. I witnessed the trauma, addictions, medical illnesses, and mental health needs in my family across generations. I had to break the cycle for myself and my family. I'm now becoming a doctor to make a difference for others. I experienced a strong need for integrated care for myself and others, with health literacy serving as a gateway to change. I then worked as an addiction counselor, mental health therapist, an educator/professor, and a PhD psychology student to become a Doctor of Medical Psychology. My passion is understanding treatment needs at the biopsychosocial spectrum of health. I realized how my addiction/psychiatric patients were impacted when I conducted biopsychosocial intake assessments. I learned how the 8 dimensions of health impact overall health. I am driven by hope to make a difference as a woman by reducing barriers and reducing stigma by increasing health literacy. My hope is to increase treatment efficacy and adherence through empathetic, trusting relationships. The modern female role is complex, misunderstood, and minimized as we navigate multiple roles in life. One dimension affects other dimensions. I chose my degrees to better understand myself and others. My goal is to give patients what they deserve: to be well-informed about their diagnoses, symptoms, medications, and to feel safe communicating their needs. I learned these elements as a patient and will give back as a future doctor. I earned a master's degree in clinical psychology and built a career as a mental health therapist. I chose my degree to improve my own and others' lives. By supporting others in facing their fears and realizing their health potential, I can reduce systemic barriers to healthcare and support other professional women to advocate for their own well-being. Being a modern independent woman is difficult, but worth having my education, career, relationships, and my own inner growth. My degree is for a successful future, health, empowerment, freedom, and independence that offers more. Advancing in healthcare training means prioritizing my own self-care across the physical, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, social, financial, occupational, and psychological dimensions. This role models for other women that, with a growth mindset, we can achieve limitless goals while supporting each other. Making a positive impact as a woman in the healthcare field means continually growing in knowledge, skills, and the ability to connect with diverse communities. Improving relationships supports adherence to treatments and builds trust. My dissertation topic is increasing healthcare utilization through cultural competence and preventive care via health literacy. Health literacy includes self-awareness, communication skills, and help-seeking behaviors. I hope to make a strong impact in healthcare by staying up to date with research, contributing to research for new interventions, and becoming a healthy leader who empowers others with emotional intelligence. I hope to advocate for staff well-being. My future goals include becoming a licensed medical psychologist in CA after completing a medical psychology residency to fulfill post-doctoral hours. I will obtain a 2nd master's degree in clinical psychopharmacology to prescribe psychiatric medicine. Understanding the history is advantageous for providing patient care. As women in healthcare, we each also have a story that brought us to where we are for bigger purposes.

My name is Annes Chu, and I am a 45-year-old independent, single woman. I overcame 16 years of drug addiction overnight, and I am a formerly battered woman. This gave me the courage to resume college as an older adult. I found my Higher Power, Jesus Christ, who helped me to believe in myself and renew my life for positive changes to serve others. Pursuing new directions fuels my ambition to develop my potential, because I know I cannot afford to waste time. Time is so precious and has taught me to make the most of it to avoid living in regret. Our values and passions direct our lives. Our mistakes are never wasted or setbacks; they are springboards for success, purpose, and wisdom. My courage to resume school included being ready as an older adult, recognizing the potential I had all along, being productive with time, not letting age stop me, and facing financial needs alone. My young adult years included working as an administrative assistant, waitress, cashier, and barista. I attempted college but lacked focus, responsibility, and direction. I needed positive role models as I ran from trauma and did not know what I wanted in life. Overcoming addictions gave me the courage to change my life and understand everything I ran from that needed healing. Now I live as the role model I wanted for myself and enjoy interconnectedness. I found my major and passion in psychology. I had wanted to leave college and focus on finding marriage. I deeply desired my own family and children. I had volunteered to care for children for 2 years and wanted my own children. After desperately freezing my eggs at age 43 to avoid regret, a multitude of failed abusive relationships, and blaming my mental health issues, I finally accepted that things occur for a greater purpose. I decided to invest in myself for my future happiness, success, and life purpose. There is an empowerment and joy that comes with being an independent woman. An elderly friend told me that finding the right man is not always a guarantee, but that my education is. This meant a lot that she believed in me and advocated for my success. I listened to her wisdom on the preciousness of time. Having only myself to depend on is significantly challenging and lonely. However, I gained inner strength, confidence, communication skills that advocate for myself and others, resourcefulness, and resilience. Success is possible with resilience in the face of hardships. Because of this, I live as a leader in life and lead by example. The challenges of time and age motivate me to persist and better encourage others in their challenges. Overcoming addictions taught me the importance and value of being an independent woman: having my own assets, empowerment, happiness, helping others empathically, and freedom to choose. Wiser choices provide sacrifices that make happiness bigger than pain. I am studying to become a medical psychologist and will obtain a 2nd master's degree in clinical psychopharmacology to prescribe medicine, after obtaining a PhD. My future goals include providing competent healthcare holistically - socially, medically, psychologically, and spiritually. I advocate for trauma care, addiction treatment, lifestyle changes, and integrated, multiculturally competent healthcare. My journey helped me better understand and help my mother, who sacrificed her life to give our family a better life in the US. I want to give back to my mother, family, and friends who positively support me. This scholarship will assist me, as a disabled student, in becoming a future doctor. I hope to give back to other older women resuming college.

My current way of giving back is helping elderly people as a therapist. I help elderly patients who have severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, along with dementia. It has been difficult to find out that some patients have passed away. I feel thankful when I think back at the last therapy session I had with a patient who passed away because I realize I contributed to providing emotional support, my time, mental and emotional support, and helped the elderly to seek meaning in life in aging. My purpose is to provide support to enhance lives. With the elderly, I enjoy providing them with peace as they find purpose and meaning in life, guiding them to reflect on their lives. I realize that I can make a difference to others to improve lives, coping with life difficulties, acceptance, and unconditional love as people navigate struggles. I always enjoy interconnectedness, learning new things, and learning from others. I believe differences are very meaningful, educational, and touching. I am transitioning to a new job and will volunteer to continue visiting my elderly patients to support them through the aging process. Most of the elderly I serve do not have visits from family. I want to help them feel acknowledged and less alone. I provide love, spiritual support, prayer, an ear that listens, advice, psychological education, and emotional support. I enjoy learning about different cultures, generations, and religions/beliefs. This fosters deeper connection, a better understanding of who people are, and healthy bonding. In my personal life, I do the same: connect with others through cultural immersion, deep, meaningful discussions, spirituality, hobbies, emotional support, supporting goals, and other interests. I enjoy providing understanding where it is needed. This breaks down stigma. I believe positive emotional support goes a long way toward helping people pursue their passions meaningfully. My volunteering experiences include crocheting blankets for foster children, feeding and providing aid to the homeless, listening to people through adversity, offering advice, playing piano and guitar for recovery groups, donating to charities, and leading women's support groups. I have taught as a volunteer, private academic tutor, and professor to children, adolescents, and adults. My current goal is to complete my PhD in counseling psychology and conduct research to promote mental health literacy/care for ethnic minorities, breaking barriers to needed treatment. My current research focus will be on increasing mental health literacy among Asians/Asian Americans to reduce stigma and promote better overall health. My goal is to become a doctor of Medical Psychology to provide competent, holistic, and integrated health care, including naturopathic care. After obtaining my PhD, I will pursue a postdoctoral residency in medical psychology, which will provide additional training in clinical psychopharmacology. This will require a 2nd master's degree to prescribe medications in the 7 U.S. states that allow it. I am very passionate about life, academics, hobbies (athletics, musicianship, and global travel), and providing laughter. I want to expand my life by continuing to travel the world. With my future travels, my goal is to help third-world countries. This scholarship will help support my life journey and future goals as a single woman. Although it is difficult as an independent woman, I feel confident to continue to make a positive difference and impact. I serve local communities and will expand globally. I can help others competently, and in doing so, I grow as well because my faith, heart, and mind grow. I plan to help globally by contributing to providing clean water, food, clothing, and education to impoverished countries. I also hope to make a difference for children, women, and the elderly globally.

My story is about thriving, not just surviving, due to resilience from overcoming childhood trauma and 6 drug addictions that I overcame overnight. It took 16 years to reach sobriety, but it strengthened me and gave me purpose. Our greatest weaknesses are our greatest strengths when faith builds healing, empowerment, and positive support for adaptive coping. I chose this path because, as an overcomer, I aim to be a competent leader with emotional intelligence. A leader helps others heal, find hope, solve issues, communicate well, and succeed together, no matter the obstacles or their history. A leader is humble, admits mistakes as an avenue for growth, meets people where they are to promote acceptance, shows empathy, looks out for others, and helps people become leaders. I chose this path knowing that my story, love, and faith in others can make a difference. My dreams stem from overcoming tremendous trauma: 16 years of substance addiction, family/partner violence, sexual abuse, and codependency. I've lived painfully with bipolar and PTSD, feeling alone, especially in Asian culture. I realized I needed to be heard, accepted, valued, and loved unconditionally without emotional minimization. I learned that people provide depth when reaching depths within themselves. Therefore, I always work on myself in recovery and therapy for growth. This helps me to be an effective clinician. My 13 years sober helped me build a new life. I realized I was gifted all along, which fueled my passion to help others realize their potential. I help others not underestimate themselves and be liberated from the constraints of mental health stigma. This helps others not feel alone. I earned an AA in Sociology after facing opposition to studying psychology. After enjoying a social psychology course, I followed my heart and switched my major to psychology for my bachelor's degree. I obtained a master's degree in clinical psychology and am currently a 5th-year PhD student. I have enjoyed supporting others in their potential and passions, which no one can truly dictate. I chose this path to become a Doctor of Medical Psychology for several reasons. This includes breaking stigma, breaking barriers to treatment, fostering interconnectedness through multicultural competence, improving healthcare, and inspiring others. Competent mental health/addiction treatments are needed to improve lives across cultures. My experience includes 8 years of mental health/addiction treatment across diverse populations: LGBTQIA+, low-income, formerly incarcerated, different ethnic cultures, DCFS cases, homeless, religious/non-religious, and severely mentally ill populations. I have worked as a certified addiction counselor and advanced to a licensed addiction counselor at the supervisor level. I also worked as a registered psychological associate therapist for 3 years, treating the severely mentally ill adults and elderly populations with dementia/schizophrenia. I diagnose mental health conditions and have treated patients ages 12-97. I was an adjunct university professor for LPCC/School Counselor graduate students, teaching Addictions and Wellness Counseling. My goals include completing my PhD in Counseling Psychology and a postdoctoral residency in medical psychology to become a licensed psychologist. I will continue research for mental health literacy among Asians/Asian Americans and minorities to break stigma and barriers to treatment. My plan is to provide integrated, holistic care for spiritual, psychological, and physiological needs. A medical psychologist provides specialized psychological care and educates patients about the intersection of medical and mental health. I will obtain a 2nd master's degree in clinical psychopharmacology to prescribe psychiatric medications as a psychologist in 1 of the 7 legal states. I will travel globally as a doctor and minister to help impoverished countries. It is a sacrifice as a 40s single woman, but worth the cause for healthy relationships and positive change.

Mental illness has affected my family and me since I was a child. I was raised in a family that has a genetic predisposition to addictions and mental illnesses. The generational trauma in my family includes family abuse, where emotions are not discussed. My entire childhood consisted of child abuse-sexual, physical, and psychological. My mother had anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and codependency with my father. My father has alcoholism, narcissistic personality disorder, and bipolar disorder. My mother could not protect me and my sisters from my father's abuse. I remember trying to save my mother and younger sister from my father's abuse when I was a child. Due to her learned helplessness, codependency, cultural-gender constraints, and generational constraints, I watched her suffer 30 years of an unhappy marriage. I suffered from PTSD, Bipolar disorder, and 16 years of severe substance addiction. I realized I had needed proper emotional and mental health support. At 33 years old, I finally quit six different drugs overnight, but it took 16 years of being addicted. I became aware of the need to understand myself better, which is the key to understanding others. When I became sober, I resumed college, which led to finding my passion in psychology. I obtained an AA in sociology, a BA in psychology, an MA in clinical psychology, and am currently a 5th-year PhD student of counseling psychology and a 3rd-year ThD student of theology at 45 years old. I turned my pain into a purpose, a springboard forward instead of a setback. I research mental health in Asian communities and other cultures. I became a licensed alcohol/drug counselor-supervisor level and a registered therapist on track to become a licensed psychologist in CA. My passions include advocating for more effective dual-diagnosis treatment with a multicultural competence lens. My stance is based on inclusiveness, unconditional acceptance, love, wisdom, and advanced knowledge to better serve stigmatized communities. With sobriety, I realized I was gifted all along but hadn't been aware due to toxic environments. I then became more passionate about advocating for others' best potential and never underestimating myself or others. I still struggle with mental health due to trauma and bipolar disorder. It's painful to navigate romantic relationships due to sexual trauma. It's lonely at times, but I always aim to grow my ambitions, never giving up on my dreams. My accomplishments and passions make a difference to others to promote positive, empowering change. Losing everything due to addictions and recovering from it is the best thing that happened to me because it helped me gain independence. My independence allows me to develop leadership skills in problem-solving, communication, interconnectedness, resourcefulness, strength, and discipline. I think and live outside the box. These qualities help my patients, friends, families, and communities. My impact wouldn't be possible without overcoming past trauma from childhood wounds. My past led me to grow daily in healing, finding ways to improve self-care across all dimensions of health. I am confident I can help others feel less alone and less stigmatized/judged for their mental suffering. It begins with self-compassion. My family hasn't attended mental health treatment. This led to my sense of isolation and estrangement from my family, but I accept this dynamic. I learned to build healthy boundaries. My family doesn't talk about emotions, past trauma, and mental health. They have mental repression, underlying pain unhealed, and difficulty communicating/expressing vulnerabilities. This mentally/emotionally strains me, so I resort to staying away from my family after years of trying to help. I continue to learn, grow, heal, recover, and empower others toward therapeutic change. We are all humans with a story.

My name is Annes Chu. My academia and career stem from being an overcomer of child abuse (sexual, physical, and psychological abuse) during childhood. I grew up with parents who had mental health issues, which I could not understand as a child. My father has alcoholism, narcissistic personality disorder, and bipolar disorder. My mother had anxiety (GAD), OCD, codependency, and depression. I am an overcomer of 16 years of addictions, rape, and battered woman syndrome. I quit six different drugs overnight and immersed myself in my education, realizing that I was gifted all along. This guided my compassion to bring out people’s potential in healthcare. I provide a nonjudgmental, accepting, loving, and validating approach to support people in their healing for change. I obtained an AA in Sociology, then began my journey to help people at the biopsychosocial level of healthcare. I received a bachelor’s degree in psychology after switching my major despite opposition. I knew that my passions were worth fighting for. During my master’s program in clinical psychology, I concurrently studied Alcohol and Drug Education separately. I became a licensed addiction counselor at the supervisor level. I became a research assistant for adolescent behavior and health, gratitude on well-being/health, and autism spectrum disorder among college students. My current research interests include neurobiological mechanisms associated with PTSD and using interpersonal neurobiology to innovate culturally adaptive trauma care. I served marginalized communities for mental health and addiction treatment, developing a passion for multicultural competence. I feel grateful to be quadrilingual because it fosters interconnectedness. I realized the strong need to reduce barriers for treatment and help patients with a more integrated, rather than dichotomous, level of holistic biopsychosocial (spiritual, as requested) care. I’ve worked as a therapist for the past 3 years. I currently treat elderly patients with severe dementia and mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, in a nursing home. I deeply realized the need for more competent biopsychosocial treatments for Asians. Today, I am a 5th-year PhD student of Counseling Psychology, preparing for my dissertation. My focus is on increasing treatment efficacy among Asians/Asian Americans by promoting mental/emotional health literacy to reduce cultural stigma on mental health treatment. My dream includes reducing barriers among Asians and ethnic minorities to increase help-seeking behaviors without shame, fear, or minimization. I advocate for healthy emotional expression to optimize therapeutic alliances, thereby improving treatment outcomes and reducing attrition. Advanced knowledge and the practitioner-patient relationship are critical. My intervention will be centered on Asian-specific issues related to discrimination, the Model Minority Myth that minimizes mental health issues, acculturative/immigration stress, language barriers, stigma on emotional expression/mental illness, filial piety while navigating American life, and collectivism versus individualistic cultural differences. My 8 years of experience treating mental illnesses/addictions include 3 years working as a therapist, diagnosing DSM-5 conditions. I was a graduate professor for LPCC/School Counselor students. I teach patients how to communicate their psychiatric needs, emotions, mental health symptoms, and patient rights. I provide biopsychosocial assessments, psychopharmacological education, neuropsychology, drug relapse prevention, family-centered care, gender issues, generational effects, healthy relationships, and patient rights when teaching groups for 8 years. Patients must understand what medications they take, what symptoms are treated, for what condition(s), and communicate side effects. My purpose is to expand my career to holistic healthcare. Future goals include completing a medical psychology residency for post-doctoral training. This will advance me in psychopharmacology, pathophysiology, and neuropsychology competencies to treat medical hospital patients with psychiatric needs. After obtaining a psychologist license, I will earn a 2nd master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology to prescribe psychiatric medications in one of the seven states where it is legal.

I grew up Korean-Japanese-American, which expanded into a passionate, deep love for different cultures. My childhood trauma included sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. I witnessed my mother’s codependency with my father, who was narcissistic, bipolar, and alcoholic. My mother suffered mental breakdowns, depression, OCD, and anxiety. I suffered from addictions, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. I was sent to boarding schools and adolescent female lock-up treatment programs during high school. I had poor grades, ditched classes, and got involved with drugs. I needed my parents to speak without harshness. I wasn’t positively affirmed but treated critically. I didn’t even know I was gifted. In 2013, I overcame addictions to 6 drugs overnight after 16 years of addictions, 3 drug rehabilitations, psychiatric treatments, and self-destructive behaviors. As a patient and working as an addiction counselor/mental health therapist, I developed a passion for improving healthcare. Competent biopsychosocial healthcare with a multicultural competence of integrated care valuing individuals is needed. My career is driven by a passion to understand myself, family, and others at a healthy interconnected level, with an insatiable desire to make a difference. I’m a multicultural/diverse, communicative, humorous, empathic, accepting, nonjudgmental, affirmative, and inclusive therapist who helps people believe in their potential and inner strengths. I believe in people’s best and challenge them to overcome self-defeat that holds them back. My lifestyle is healthy and balanced, and to be a positive role model to patients. My priority is the therapeutic alliance of safety, comfort, healthy expression, and interconnectedness for treatment efficacy. I adapted to other cultures, becoming multiculturally competent, but realized my cultural needs weren’t met, even with Asian therapists. Cultural impacts/stigma and my LGBTQ issues weren’t discussed. Asians are underrepresented in research and treatments due to stigma among Asians. This inspired me to make a significant change in today’s mental healthcare system for increasing access, equity, and inclusion by inventing a new culture-specific intervention promoting mental health literacy to increase treatment-seeking behaviors. This reduces cultural stigma with mental health and addictions. Asian issues that are minimized are acculturation stress, immigration, language stress, discrimination, stigma among families and Asians, shame-based culture, minimization and mental repression effects, Model Minority Myth as a mask for conditions, academic pressure, and collectivism vs individualism differences are addressed. The intervention teaches that mental health issues aren’t a weakness, shame, fear, embarrassment, or failure. Communicating emotions and seeking help will be normalized to benefit long-term well-being. This reduces barriers with microaggressive Westernized approaches that cause attrition. Mental health literacy includes resources for low-income populations: free medical insurance, non-profit organizations, disability benefits, in-network treatment facilities, medical care, and communities. As an overcomer of childhood/lifetime trauma, addictions, DV, rape, and battered woman syndrome, people must be heard, accepted, never minimized, and treated humanely. Telehealth is advantageous to accommodate working adults, parents, individuals with busy schedules, people with anxiety with in-person treatment, and limited transportation. This increases treatment-seeking behaviors. Challenges include risks with confidentiality and privacy with technology use. Unexpected technical issues occur, causing breaches in privacy that cannot be guaranteed. Low-income individuals may have difficulty accessing devices and internet service. Innovating treatment for diverse communities includes providing resources and information for telehealth accessibility. Some low-income insurance providers provide free utilities (internet and electricity). Government benefits, grants, and non-profit organizations provide free devices with internet service. Innovative outreach includes providing information at hospitals, medical clinics, schools, adult centers, and psychological/psychiatric facilities. Outreach includes social media to extend information, advocating for equal opportunities for care and accommodations.

The specific moment that changed my life forever was surrendering to Jesus Christ, which led to quitting 6 drugs overnight after 16 years of drug addiction. This changed my life forever for empowering change. My childhood trauma with sexual/physical/psychological abuse led to escaping and abandoning my inner child, who was very sweet, sensitive, caring, shy, and kind. I was scapegoated, bullied, and taken advantage of due to these inner qualities. As a child, I rescued my sister and mother from my abusive, alcoholic father. I've always been a compassionate empath, looking out for others, wanting everybody to be happy, and for everyone to get along, even as I was bullied with nobody protecting me. As a child, I comforted my mother when she cried from struggles that were hard to talk about. My 2 sisters and I were abused, minimized, and criticized in a chaotic family environment. It seemed perfect externally, but home life was very turbulent and dysfunctional. I became a better person because it shaped my love, courage, resilience, a deeper understanding of true life blessings, wisdom, gratitude, direction, ambition, and passion that uses pain for a purpose to grow. This influences lives. My passions include interconnectedness, recovering daily, building healthy relationships, and impacting communities as a humble leader. I embrace never losing my kindness when there were many reasons to lose kindness. Becoming a Christian led to embracing my inner true self: the inner child who is caring, sensitive, and looks out for others. I believe in the best in others. I was saved realizing I'm somebody that matters, no matter the mistakes. People go through hardships, so it's important to show kindness and emotional availability - not just notice, but to take action. I live like Andrea by positively affirming others and seeing their best potential everywhere I go. This helps people feel noticed, feel they matter, and believe in themselves. Even though I completed all 4 years of high school in 1.5 years, with just 2 more classes to graduate as a 16-year-old, I didn't realize I was gifted because nobody affirmed me. So I always affirm people's potential, speaking up for their strengths. My daily growth and healing recovery helps grow self-awareness needed to better serve others and understand them at a deeper level. Like Andrea, my purpose is more than a job and also outside of work. I work as a therapist treating the elderly with dementia and severe mental illnesses. I'm also a licensed addiction counselor. I enjoy providing unconditional acceptance, love, discussions about emotions, and positive support for people with trauma. I love others to help them love themselves. I help people use pain for a resilient purpose and learn that barriers are growth opportunities. I teach that happiness always outweighs past pain, which makes them shine brighter and grow stronger. I give in my personal life as a family member, athlete, musician, traveler, student, friend, teacher, and lifelong learner. I value supporting, connecting with, and supporting people's dreams by challenging them kindly. My gratitude for recovery helps to give back by inspiring them and being authentic about what I go through. I make the most of life, to never waste time again. I believe that mistakes are never wasted. My motto is, "Thrive, not just survive." My passion is to help others feel confident, overcome fears, and make their biggest weaknesses their biggest strengths. This is possible by being there for them in their darkest and brightest moments. I meet people where they are in life. This is my mission in life. It's painfully difficult living with PTSD and bipolar disorder, but I can help people feel included. As Andrea lived, I make a difference by being genuine, unconditionally accepting, and loving. This changes lives. My future goals include becoming an ordained minister for global missions and helping third-world countries. I enjoy cultural immersion, learning about different cultures, traveling, and learning languages. I speak Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. I use my talents to serve others and to connect with them. Having places to belong and be accepted without judgment or stigma saved me. I believe that lives are saved when hope is given to the hopeless by providing belonging, especially to marginalized people. In everything I do, I give inclusion. It's more rewarding and meaningful to give back than to self-serve. My volunteering experiences include playing piano/guitar for Celebrate Recovery, providing food and care packages for homeless people, crocheting blankets for foster children, cleaning schools, childcare for the Children's Ministry, and helping students with homework. I am a non-traditional student because I'm a 45-year-old single woman and a mentally disabled student in college to become a Dr. of Medical Psychology after overcoming 16 years of addictions, incarceration, and being a battered woman from abusive partners. This led to a very unconventional path to my education, from the 13-year gap from college, lifetime trauma, and the scientific statistics that state my circumstances would likely lead to life failure. I was driven to ensure that I and others would succeed. I make a positive difference to people with trauma, adversity, and difficulties that many would stigmatize, exclude, or misunderstand. I feel happy being someone who understands with deep empathy, gratitude, enjoys time together, and looks beyond stigma. I teach others to speak up truth, be treated with respect, not allow others to underestimate them, positively affirm themselves, and not let age or mistakes stop them from pursuing dreams. Everyone deserves chances - this is what drives me. Inspirational, courageous, intelligent, and genuinely kind people like Andrea Worden give me hope and courage to keep using kindness as a strength. I don't fit perfectly into the Asian cultural, traditional student, 40s woman, or even Christian norms at times, but it makes me more kind, unique, adaptable, open-minded, accepting, understanding, connected, and helpful to diverse people. Like Andrea, I live courageously being myself and help people quickly when nobody steps in. I'm generous with time, resources, heart, forgiveness, and mind because I get to.

I am a 41-year-old Asian American double doctoral student named Annes Chu and I struggled with substance addictions for 15 years. I have PTSD, Bipolar 2, and borderline personality disorder. As an abused child, I was sexually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically abused, which led to addictions and domestic violence relationships that severely limited my potential. Adversities helped me discover my inner strengths of resiliency, compassion, ambition, courage, love, potential, and empowerment, which shaped my goals without doubt or fear due to my relationship with God. I believe that Jesus Christ saved my life from the death of self-destruction and helped me get sober overnight. I have 9 years sober today. Adversity taught me that barriers are opportunities for growth and unlimited potential. It also taught me the impact of mental health on families. Being mentally ill subjected me to abuse, being stigmatized, misunderstood, and rejected or judged frequently. I’ve experienced suicidality many times from feeling alone. I learned that my value and worth are not dependent on how others see me or by putting up with abuse, but on how God sees me. I overcame the barriers of being mentally ill by seeing myself in a better light to believe in myself. I learned that mental health is not just another statistic but that through conditions, I can make a positive and powerful difference to others. My goals developed in making a difference in the world, believing in others, and bringing out the best in others through my spiritual, leadership, career, academic, and relational life. Setting these goals, achieving these goals, and always creating more has given me the confidence needed to continue being driven with a passionate heart of growing fire to develop my values by understanding the world’s dynamics better. It has taught me to value and promote social and human justice for meaning in life, as well as purpose. My relationship with God created a positive mentality to be empowered, inspired, and help people see their potential. I began to develop a healthy, accepting, understanding, and loving relationship with myself. This promotes understanding and unconditional love in relation to others for the world to be a better world. Gaining happiness and success as a mentally ill person motivated me to reach out to my community to speak out not only for awareness but to promote inner capabilities in everyone because I believe in others. This helped me develop meaningful relationships with people. I discovered that stigma in the world, the judgments from lack of understanding, and a lack of positive affirmations create barriers to people’s healing growth to reach potential. This limits people and exacerbates mental health symptoms. All the signs of giftedness were in me all along but due to abuse and the perception of mental health, I lived a limited and self-sabotaging life. Now I bring out people’s strengths. My understanding of the world is that there are many social issues but there is a lot of love in this world that are strengths to emotional, mental, and spiritual support. I experienced a world that discourages uplifting people, so accepting people are more meaningful, rewarding, and appreciated. Political agendas, police brutalities, and others who repress or oppress minority populations (LGBTQ, mentally disabled, physically disabled, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, and being a female), has shaped my goal-oriented ambitions for success, and happiness by rising above being outspoken to fight for human justice using my powerful story. I learned to understand the world from a much more open-minded and wiser perspective today to get through adversities. I learned that we could all understand each other even if we disagree. The biggest lesson on how I view the world is that division and differences only grow the mind and heart. These beliefs led me to meaningful relationships by realizing who is for me not against me, thus those who support and believe in my best are for me. Meaningful relationships act as strong protective factors against injustice, stigma, and trials. I never let go of people who are loyal to me, understand me, and unconditionally love me. Today, I am studying to become a doctor of Christian Theology to become a pastor for future global missions as an ordained minister. My other Ph.D. program is to become a licensed psychologist. I also will attend medical school to become a physician’s assistant to help communities within a broad biopsychosocial spiritual spectrum of health and wellness to save lives. I became educated in mental health conditions during my master's studies in clinical psychology. I help others by educating them to understand mental health to promote recovery. I teach using positive affirmations to bring out the inner strengths of mental health clients. This helps achieve acceptance of themselves for success. I use my personal testimony of overcoming mental health, addictions and being a convicted ex-felon and formerly battered woman that became a Ph.D. student to inspire others that anything is possible. I became an Alcohol and Drug Counselor to help substance addiction/mental health clients. My mental health/addiction issues drove my goal to work in psychology after becoming sober. I do research on childhood maltreatment increasing mental illness, substance addictions, and abusive relationships, and what we can do about it. My goals have been shaped to create prevention and interventions for mentally ill populations, as well as those at risk. I've learned to reach out and receive positive support from good friends. This shaped my goals to develop strong/healthy boundaries and assertive communication skills as a powerful leader with the problem-solving abilities needed for healthy relationships. I am somebody and I matter, so I live my life in a rewarding way to help others know they matter. I now live a meaningful and happy life with healthy/loving relationships I am grateful for forever. Although I still suffer from mental health symptoms, I am always confident to get through strong. I use my negative experiences as a springboard/ambition to do amazing things. Pain is never wasted, and my pain is for a purpose!

My name is Annes Jeongeun Chu. My lifetime experiences of 41 years have been both significantly positive and negative. Growing up in an abusive family, I was raised with strictness, control, quality education, and a wealthy upbringing. My family was not the typical Korean family. My father was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, and my mother was born and raised in Japan as a Korean blooded female. Japan and Korea have a deep/long history of Koreans being oppressed by the Japanese. Even today in modern times, many perceive that this history has been overcome but there are still tensions between the two cultures with racism and bias in my experience. I have experienced the significant differences and similarities of both Japanese and Korean culture within my family that are a part of my journey of who I am becoming. What this has done for me is embracing the culture in which I now today live as and identify as a very multicultural/diverse-oriented person who embraces cultural differences that I learned to grow my heart, as well as open my mind. My identity as a Korean American has a very intense and long background that makes me who I am today as a very passionate, loving, and thriving Korean American Christian woman who is on a mission in life for God to give back to communities to make a positive difference for change. I rebelled from Asian culture starting as a teen due to the curious desire to seek different subcultures. I realized that this was a rebellion from the abuse of my culture in which abuse had been tolerated, which is what I may have been rebelling from. Many Koreans and Japanese stuck together in my high school as cliques but I rebelled from my Asian clique of very intelligent, talented, and loyal friends to explore different crowds of different ethnicities, styles, and music subcultures. I had such a strong curiosity and interest in not being or not looking like a typical Asian American. Now I realize it was because I didn't get healthy attention from home and needed to stand out. My tastes in rock music, newfound associations with the rebels, and association with white culture led me to be labeled as a "traitor" by a Korean. It was because I had rejected my own Korean friends and normative standards. I had rejected my Asian culture due to rebellion and psychological problems with my abusive/emotionally unavailable family. I rebelled from my Korean culture and sought ways to be different that are non-conforming/abnormal of conservative Koreans. Examples include being a vegetarian, drug addict with hardcore drugs, doing prison time, hanging out with outcasts, getting tattooed, going to treatments for addictions, being on government aid, and being emotionally expressive. I also lived a lesbian lifestyle in which family members would give me looks of disapproval and contempt. Little did I realize back then what a huge identity issue and confusion I was having as I engaged in many "images" including a hippie, punk rocker, stoner, tweaker, metalhead, and more. In 2003, I worked for a now-famous and prestigious German company called Swiss Wagner, I was led by a very forgiving and merciful Godly owner (Bernard Wagner), who had led me to Jesus Christ. I accepted Jesus Christ and this would be my seed of hope/love/faith that makes me who I am today as a Korean American. I still lived a wayward/sinful life full of pain in damaging myself by destroying my health, potential, and finances. With drugs came abuse including rape, domestic violence, robbery at knifepoint, carjackings, and other dangerous events. I lacked self-control and was lost in darkness. Finally, in Las Vegas on 3/8/13, around 3 am, I surrendered my life and addictions to Jesus Christ. I stopped over 5 addictions (behavioral and substances) overnight after 18 years of wreckage! I became stronger in my true identity as a grateful Korean American, thanks to my Higher Power Jesus Christ who showed me my authentic self He created. I made a 360-degree change in my life for the better! This led me to have an identity at last as a Korean American Christian woman I truly embrace authentically today. It was difficult at first to find close and lasting friendships with Korean or Asian Americans. Trying hard to belong, I ended up feeling rejected and persecuted for being different. I attended Asian churches and felt different. I was lonely not truly fitting in. I felt comfortable in diverse settings that include Asians. I realize I do not have to be like everyone to fit in to feel like a Korean American. Today, I am a public speaker and leader where I serve at my church's Celebrate Recovery for Saddleback Church in Torrance, CA. I am a double Ph.D. student of Counseling Psychology and a Ph.D. of Christian Theology. I work as a therapist for addicts and mental health. Due to rebellion from my culture and embracing myself as a Korean American Christian today, I live a purposeful and meaningful life of valuing and loving all cultures that taught me to be who I am today. I am preparing for global mission/evangelism internationally while learning my 5th language! What I rebelled from turned out to set me apart to love and value everyone at a deeper level. I appreciate today how Asian Americans respect their elders, have manners, formalities, value education, are responsible, and value prosperity with hard work. I am truly grateful today for being a Korean American that is compassionate, down-to-earth, unique, independent, empowered, assertive, outspoken in love, ambitious, and courageous. I learned that hate and differences should not cause division but should deepen love, acceptance, and bonding. All it starts with is an open mind with understanding. I discovered that being different in a healthy/positive way is a gift, blessing, and honor that engages me to be a leader, not a follower. I use my testimony for others for God to share messages to love themselves and others.

My name is Annes Jeongeun Chu and I am a Korean American Ph.D. student. I've learned as I've matured in age, to never compromise who I truly am because going against who I am has limited my potential for compassion, understanding, acceptance, and love. I grew up with a mother who is Korean by blood but born and raised in Osaka, Japan. My father was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. Interestingly, my parents got married through traditional match-making by family members. They did not speak or understand the same language, so managed to communicate with each other through the use of Chinese characters. Chinese characters are used by both Koreans and Japanese as part of their language in writing. These common characters by writing developed the communication and understanding between my parents. My mother then taught herself the Korean language with fluent competency, which she used to teach me and my sisters, the Korean language, with a Japanese influence/accent. After my older sister, Angela was born, my parents immigrated to American during the late 1970s. I was then first to be born in the US in 1980. Growing up with my family was very difficult, not only due to cultural differences but because of the abusive household and upbringing throughout the entirety of my youth. My father was an alcoholic and abused my mother physically, mentally, and emotionally. Also, he abused me and my two sisters. I was abused physically, emotionally, mentally, and sexually. Due to the abusive nature of my father, my mother abused me and my sisters as well, out of the stress and frustration of my father. A series of unfortunate and traumatic events occurred to me when I was going through puberty, including molestation by a Vietnamese young man and further trauma from my father. When I became an adolescent, I became withdrawn from my Asian culture and resorted to rebellion. I rebelled against the law, school, my culture, and God. I was a complete truant, in which I was caught many times using drugs in high school. I was kicked out of 2 boarding schools, expelled from 2 public high schools, and could not seem to stay in school. I betrayed the close-knit group of Asian American friends I had. These were friends who were from our parents' culture. They were highly intelligent, talented, and good friends. I chose to affiliate with a rebellious crowd instead and began my journey of drug addiction, as well as a wayward lifestyle that almost ended my life. I did not realize it at the time, but I was rebelling against my own culture. I began to resent and hate my own Asian culture, including fellow Asian Americans to fit in with the wrong crowd at school. I didn't think at the time what the psychological reasons were for having this ungrateful attitude. From around 1994-2013, I committed myself to a life of drugs, other behavioral addictions, and engaging in behaviors that were not typical of being an Asian American at all. The conflict I had within, which I now realize as a psychologically educated woman, was the fact that I came from a family and culture that is accepting of abusing women and children. I grew up with an Asian culture that did not acknowledge the emotions or pain of children, so I was not raised with the emotional nurture that I needed to be confident, have healthy self-esteem, and healthy discipline. It was highly discouraged for me to speak my mind as Americans are encouraged to do so. In American, it is against the law to punish children in abusive ways. Experiencing friends and other families that in my experience, were so lenient/flexible/relaxed compared to the punishing and strict Asian family I grew up in, was extremely appealing to me. I discovered that I felt the freedom to do what I want without needing the approval of my Asian culture. I also had conflicts with language barriers with my parents, which made it hard to express myself in a way that they understand. I learned that true freedom is not just doing anything I want without caring about negative consequences. I learned that freedom is about embracing who I am (culturally, spiritually and inner good strengths I have), as well as being free from the bondage of a sinful life to escape the trauma. After almost 2 decades of escaping my culture and immersing myself in other cultures, I became a chameleon who can relate to anyone. In 2013 when I surrendered to Jesus Christ, I quit my many addictions (multiple drugs, criminal behaviors, toxic/unhealthy influences, smoking, gambling, and more) overnight! By the grace of God, I became a sober/responsible/reliable/committed believer of Christ. The love, forgiveness, restoration, and healing of God saved my life from the destruction that could've led to death! Since 2013, I've dedicated my life to appreciate and be grateful for who I am instead of destroying who I am: a Korean American Christian lady who now lives up to my best potential God gives me that I did not realize I had all along. Today, I am over 8 years sober in recovery, always giving restitution by helping others, working as an Alcohol and Drug Counselor, an avid volunteer, a preacher to the disadvantaged population, and a 4.0 Ph.D. student of Counseling Psychology. In my first years back to college, I took courses in Korean and Japanese to embrace my identity as an Asian American and overcome language barriers. I also took classes in Spanish and German. I embrace today being an intelligent, gifted, talented, loving, and successful Asian American who is responsible. Loving my own culture/ethnicity has made my heart bigger/forgiving for myself and others, as God loves us. This is my current perception and experience of true freedom. Living rightfully, my Asian American identity has helped me to understand who I am: secure, confident, grateful, happier, accepting, and at peace with myself. I will always embrace my Asian American identity.