May is National Mental Health Awareness Month

During these unprecedented times, there is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. It is important to talk it out or get someone to listen. There is an uptick in calls on our Parents Stressline for emotional and mental health support. Not knowing how to cope with being with their children 24/7 is among the top stressors.

We meet a critical need in helping parents understand their kids’ behaviors at home. APA’s Behavioral Health program staff gives advice to our Chinatown Parents Support Group on dealing with their stress, over video conferencing, of course.

 

Special packages with books, coloring sheets, crayons, and finger puppets were mailed to parents as tools to interact with their children at home and to use for our weekly virtual parent-child interactive groups via Zoom.

We have served 45 clients in this fiscal year and continue providing teletherapy to about 20. On an average we provide over 500 sessions of individual therapy annually. In the last fiscal year, 50 clients received behavioral health services. About 15% are adults and 85% are children under 18 years old. Services include individual, couple, family, and group therapy.

Behavioral Health program staff and graduate interns have reached out to clients with care packages including individualized notes. Their gesture was well received, resulting in some of these clients requesting to continue their therapy via telehealth. Master's degree program interns Kate Reardon, Zachary Segall, and Mandy Sun are completing our Counseling Internship Program in June. We wish them all the best in their life after APA's internship and their upcoming new jobs. Lots of thanks for their services during this pandemic!

 

3 QUESTIONS  With Our Behavioral Health Clinical Supervisor

Kate Hellenga

Kate has an M.A. in feminist psychology (New College of California) and a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology (University of Illinois). She has worked in a variety of roles, from professor to program manager to psychotherapist, and in settings ranging from clinics to police departments to the SF County Jail.

 

In early 2020, Kate joined APA as a Behavioral Health Clinical Supervisor. She supervises and trains psychotherapy interns who provide school- and clinic-based services, and works closely with Program Director Lillian Lai to develop and improve our behavioral health programs.

Why did you go into this field?

My family was troubled when I was growing up. I had a psychotherapist who helped me get through it, so I think that must have inspired me in my career choice.

 

I chose clinical psychology because it allows such a broad range of activities - psychotherapy, research, teaching, supervising, consulting, program development. I must have picked the right field because I love my work!

Tell us about your family?

I reside in San Francisco with my partner, a SFDPH social worker who works with the homeless, and his teenage son, who plays French horn at Ruth Asawa SOTA. Our two rescue dogs are part of our family.

 

What do you do in your leisure time?

I love being outdoors, whether it’s walking the dogs, gardening, or watching whales or birds. I play the piano and am learning guitar. Reading literary & speculative fiction is favorite pastime. I love movies.

We wish you all good health. Protect yourself and others by following the CDC guidelines for physical distancing, hand washing, and wearing face coverings. Thank you for caring.

Rick Yuen, Executive Director

Please donate to support APA's Behavioral Health Program:
$250 - Supports one group therapy session to 8 children
$100 - ​Provides one session of counseling for a family exposed to trauma 
$40 - Provides Behavioral Health Program staff and interns the supplies/resources to support student’s academic and emotional success

Donate. . .
APA's mission is to promote healthy children and families by providing family support services to prevent child abuse and domestic violence. We also advocate for culturally competent services for Asians and Pacific Islanders through education, community building and leadership development.
 
APA Family Support Services is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency. Your contribution to support APA is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair  Rose Chung  Asian America Foundation

President  Cary Chen  Recology  
Vice President  Jacqueline Huie First Republic Bank

Secretary  Julie Hoxie  University of California, Berkeley
Treasurer  Joyce Tso, CPA/ABV  ASAM, LLP

Mai-Sie Chan, M.D.  Private Practice
Van Diep  KTSF-TV, Channel 26

Fanny Lam  COMPASS Real Estate

Kory Lam  HSBC Bank (USA)

Jennifer Ng  Kaiser Permanente San Francisco
Susan Sung, Ph.D., Professor Emerita  

San Francisco State University

Dean Yao, Ph.D.  Mode Analytics


EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR  

Rick Yuen, MSW

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