The mental health needs of people of color are largely invisible because they underutilize mental health services and are not the focus of research. These mental health utilization disparities have persisted for at least six decades. Neither evidence-based treatments nor culturally-adapted treatments adequately address the individual needs of people of color. People of color may not use mental health services because services are not: (a) personally relevant; or (b) accessible. Our neuroscience data suggest that pragmatic, problem-solving approaches are the most personally relevant for Asian Americans, the least likely ethnic group to use mental health services. In this talk, I discuss the development of the Mind Boba app to make psychotherapy more personally relevant and accessible to Asian Americans.

About the speaker: Gordon Nagayama Hall is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon. Dr. Hall received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He started his career as a psychologist at Western State Hospital in Washington state. Dr. Hall later was a Professor of Psychology at Kent State University and Penn State University. He served as President of the American Psychological Association (APA) Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45) and as President of the Asian American Psychological Association. He was Editor of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. His textbook Multicultural Psychology is in its 4th Edition. Dr. Hall received the Lifetime Achievement Award from APA Division 45 and an APA Presidential Citation for his extraordinary leadership in advancing multicultural psychology. His research interests are in culture and mental health with a particular interest in Asian Americans. He currently has NIMH funding to develop the Mind Boba problem-solving therapy app for Asian Americans. Dr. Hall serves on the Board of Directors of the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon.