May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the important contributions of AAPI people. Highlighted below are the contributions from just a small sample of well-known AAPI psychologists. In addition, some great resources of information include the Asian American Journal of Psychology (publishing research investigating the behavior and experiences of AAPI populations), the Asian American Psychological Association (dedicated to the education and training of AAPI psychologists, research on AAPI psychological topics, and methods of improving mental health services for AAPI people), and TXST’s Student Involvement page (providing information for AAPI students).

Wei-Chin Hwang, PhD

Dr. Wei-Chin Hwang earned his PhD in clinical psychology from UCLA in 2003. He is currently a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Claremont McKenna College in California. Dr. Hwang’s research and clinical work aim to reduce mental health disparities by culturally adapting treatments for ethnic minorities, and in his practice, he additionally conducts therapy sessions in Mandarin or Taiwanese. Stemming from this work, he wrote the book, Culturally Adapting Psychotherapy for Asian Heritage Populations: An Evidence-Based Approach. Dr. Hwang has been honored with the Richard M. Suinn Minority Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association (APA) and multiple awards from the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) that include the Distinguished Contributions Award for Outstanding Contributions to Asian American Psychology and the Early Career Award in Research for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

Gayle Y. Iwamasa, PhD

Dr. Gayle Iwamasa, upon obtaining her PhD in clinical psychology from Purdue University in 1992, remained in academia and became an associate professor at DePaul University. Her researched explored multicultural mental health across the lifespan, and she was the primary editor of the book, Culturally Responsive Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Practice and Supervision, now in its second edition. Dr. Iwamasa was a prior president of the AAPA and is currently the National Inpatient Mental Health Program Director in the Central Office for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In recognition of her scholarly and professional work, she earned the VA Secretary’s Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award, APA’s Presidential Citation for Dedication to Diversity and Inclusion in Research and Practice, AAPA’s Distinguished Contribution Award, and the Emerging Professional Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues.

Reiko Homma True, PhD

Dr. Reiko True earned her PhD in 1976 from the California School of Professional Psychology, part of Alliant International University. Her early work at the National Institute of Mental Health involved developing community healthcare programs for racial and ethnic minorities, focusing on their specific needs and combatting the stigma surrounding mental illness in those communities. Dr. True later worked as the Director of Community Mental Health Services and Substance Abuse Services in San Francisco, where she developed mental health programs for minority and women’s groups, in addition to lobbying the local governments to implement mental health services that addressed cultural and linguistic differences. Furthermore, she was a founding member and prior president of the AAPA, and she helped establish APA’s Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs. To honor her impactful clinical and professional contributions, the AAPA gave her the association’s inaugural Okura Community Leadership Award, as well as its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Frederick T. L. Leong, PhD

Dr. Frederick Leong received his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland in 1988. As a professor at both Ohio State University and Michigan State University, his research focused on cultural factors relevant to mental health, psychotherapy, career development, and occupational stress. Dr. Leong has published over 200 journal articles and has edited numerous books including the APA Handbook of Psychotherapy, Occupational Health Disparities: Improving the Well-Being of Ethnic and Racial Minority Workers, and Evidence-Based Psychological Practice with Ethnic Minorities: Culturally Informed Research and Clinical Strategies. He was the founding editor of the Asian American Journal of Psychology and a past president for both AAPA and the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues. Dr. Leong earned AAPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, APA’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology, and APA’s Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science.

Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal, MD

Dr. Kevin Nadal earned his PhD in counseling psychology from Columbia University and is currently a distinguished professor at the City University of New York. His research explores the impact of microaggressions on the mental and physical health of LGBTQ people, Filipino Americans, and other marginalized groups. Dr. Nadal has written many books that include Dismantling Everyday Discrimination: Microaggressions Toward LGBTQ People, Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress: Theory, Research, and Clinical Treatment and Filipino American Psychology. Moreover, he co-founded the LGBTQ Scholars of Color National Network, and he served as president for both the AAPA and the Filipino American National Historical Society. Dr. Nadal has been recognized with APA’s Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, AAPA’s Award for Early Career Contributions to Excellence, and the Emerging Professional Award for Research from the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race.

Derald Wing Sue, PhD

Dr. Derald Sue obtained his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Oregon and is currently a professor at Columbia University. He is a pioneer researcher on multicultural counseling and on the psychology of racism/antiracism, and his numerous books include Microaggressions in Everyday Life, Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice, and Microintervention Strategies: What You Can Do to Disarm and Dismantle Individual and Systemic Racism and Bias. Dr. Sue was also a co-founder and the first president of the AAPA, as well as a past president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race. His work has been honored by the APA with the Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology and the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest; by the AAPA with the Distinguished Contributions Award and the Okura Community Leadership Award; and by the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues with the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Distinguished Career Contributions to Research Award.

Christine J. Yeh, PhD

Dr. Christine Yeh earned a Master’s degree in human development from Harvard University and a PhD in counseling psychology from Stanford University. Previously an associate professor at Columbia University, she is now a professor at the University of San Francisco. Dr. Yeh’s research and professional work centers around developing school and community programs for marginalized groups, inkling AAPI youth and other children of color. Her publications include two co-edited books: Culturally Adaptive Counseling Skills: Demonstrations of Evidence-Based Practice and Handbook of School Counseling. In recognition of her work, Dr. Yeh earned AAPA’s Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions, AAPA’s Okura Community Leadership Award, the Community Service Award from APA’s Division of Counseling Psychology, the Pioneer Award from APA’s Division on Women, and three Distinguished Research Awards from the American Educational Research Association’s Division for Counseling and Development.