Guest Post: Ulash Thakore-Dunlap, LMFT

Greetings from Washington DC!

This August, RAMS was represented in numerous ways at the 2011 annual Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) conference, George Washington University, Washington DC. The theme of this year’s conference was “Expanding Our Horizons: Giving Voice to Underrepresented AAPIs.”

AAPA was founded in 1972 and is the largest organization of faculty, students, researchers, and practitioners interested in Asian American psychology. AAPA members and initiatives have positively impacted psychological treatment, education, training, research, policy and social justice advocacy, through research dissemination, organizational policy statements and collaboration with other psychological organizations for publications, training initiatives, and disseminating resources for serving Asian American communities.

The day began with a keynote address by filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem. Deann discussed her work in documenting the experiences of Korean-American adoptees. The rest of the day was filled with engaging presentations including Integrating Mind and Body: Interventions for Asian American Youth, Hmong American Mental Health and Well-Being, Research as a Vehicle for Social Justice: Implications for South Asian Psychology and more.

RAMS work was represented through presentations, and staff presence and involvement at the conference:

Poster Presentation: “A new training model in Asian American community mental health: Integrating program evaluation and clinical training” by Tai Chang, Eddie Chiu, Yuki Okubo, Rose Sneed, Nicole Mayeda, Jacqueline Nguyen, Kavoos Bassiri, Kwong-Liem Karl Kwan, and Christina Shea. RAMS along with Alliant International University, California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) co-presented this poster which described the RAMS-CSPP clinical research internship which provides Psy.D. students who are interested in Asian American mental health a unique training opportunity that focuses on both clinical work and research/program evaluation.

Conference Session Presentation: “Ecology, Racism, and Psychological Outcomes among Asian Americans” by Hyung Chol Yoo (Arizona State University), Alvin Alvarez (San Francisco State University), Nellie Tran (University of Massachusetts, Lowell), and Tai Chang (California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University). Alvin Alvarez is board member at RAMS.

AAPA Leadership Team and Division Work: Alvin Alvarez is the AAPA Delegate to APA Council. Ulash Thakore-Dunlap (Behavioral Health Counselor, RAMS Wellness Centers Program) is the incoming AAPA Communications Officer and Chair for the Division on South Asian Americans (DoSAA).

Furthermore, RAMS also presented during another Poster Session, titled “Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 for Chinese American population: Initial validation and factor structure” at the 2011 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington D.C.

It was wonderful to meet the AAPA conference attendees, share our ideas and knowledge on issues affecting the AAPI community. We hope RAMS will be represented again at next year’s conference in Orlando!