The Counseling Psychologist

There is a paucity of research on the mental health of Pacific Islanders living in the United States, including those of Polynesian descent. This study examined coping strategies, attitudes toward seeking mental health counseling, public and self-stigma toward seeking mental health services, and psychological adjustment among 638 Polynesian Americans. On average, participants held neither favorable nor unfavorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, but men endorsed moderate self-stigma about mental illness and women endorsed high levels of public stigma about mental illness. Women showed relatively more favorable attitudes than men about seeking help from professional mental health providers. Participants reported benefitting more from culturally congruent practices for coping with distress (accepting, reframing, striving, family support, and religiosity/spirituality) than from seeking assistance from private emotional outlets (e.g., therapy) or avoidance and detachment. Mental health professionals need to build cross-cultural bridges and culturally adapt services to address concerns among Polynesian Americans.

In this study, we examined psychotherapy utilization, presenting concerns, reported distress levels, and psychotherapy outcomes among Polynesian American students presenting for services at a counseling center. We collected data at intake, during therapy sessions, and at termination for 415 Polynesian American and 18,117 European American students over a 17-year period. Polynesian American students were equally likely to utilize counseling services as European American students but were more likely to drop out earlier. At intake, these students reported higher numbers of presenting concerns and greater levels of emotional and psychological distress than European American students. Polynesian American students reported significantly higher scores on racial discrimination, physical abuse, and family dependence. Implications for counseling center programs and services are discussed.

We examined the effectiveness of the Hill model of helping skills training for 191 undergraduate students in six sections of a semester-long course. Students completed self-report, performance, and nonverbal measures at the beginning; they conducted one 20-min helping session at the beginning and another toward the end of the semester; and they completed self-efficacy measures at the end of the semester. Students’ helping skills improved over the course of the semester, as evidenced by higher helper- and volunteer client–rated session quality, reduced proportion of words spoken in sessions, increased proportion of exploration skills used in sessions, and increased self-efficacy for using helping skills. Self-reported empathy predicted four of the five helping skills criteria at the beginning-of-semester assessment. Facilitative interpersonal skills predicted end-of-semester self-efficacy in helping skills when controlling for retrospective prelevels and instructor effects. Implications for training and research are presented.

Our study aims to examine the salutary effects and interactions of three Chinese indigenous well-being (CIWB) constructs, namely relationship harmony (advocated by Confucianism), dialectical coping (derived from Taoism), and nonattachment (based on Buddhism) on mental health. Participants were 262 Taiwanese college students. Results revealed that the three CIWB constructs showed distinct associations with mental health. Relationship harmony was related negatively to psychological distress and positively to meaning in life and happiness. Dialectical coping predicted higher levels of positive affect and meaning in life, whereas nonattachment was the only and strongest protective factor against negative affect and psychological distress. Overall, nonattachment demonstrated the most adaptive effects on mental health. Additionally, moderation effects between dialectical coping and nonattachment on self-esteem, psychological distress, and happiness were observed. These findings underscore the importance of simultaneously investigating CIWB constructs to capture their unique and interactive contribution to psychological adjustment. Practical and research implications are discussed.

As part of celebrating 25 years of the Janet E. Helms Mentoring Award for Mentoring and Scholarship in Professional Psychology at the annual Winter Roundtable on Cultural Psychology and Education, the first and the 25th recipients were interviewed, including Janet E. Helms, for whom the award was named, and Lillian Comas-Díaz, the 2015 recipient. Both women have been highly influential scholars, teachers, and mentors in the field of psychology, particularly regarding racial–cultural and social justice issues. During our interview, we covered a number of themes: mentoring as a lifeline, mentoring and social justice activism, mentoring in the digital age, and words of wisdom for new mentors.