Beyond the Couch with Bridges Christie Kim, Diana Liao and Samantha Waldman

Welcome to Season 3 of Beyond the Couch! We're back with a fresh look and a revamped structure. Join us as we dive deep into a new theme each month. With May being both Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re starting off with the theme of identity. This week, Sam, Diana and Christie catch up on how transitions and travel during the break have allowed for their own exploration, and discuss what’s to come this season. Tune in every Wednesday as we explore identity, queerness, body, spirituality, and career with new and returning guests. 

Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.
Find a Therapist.
Join our Clinician Community.
Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

Content warning: family abuse, sexual abuse, self-harm

This week, Christie, Sam, and Diana get together to reflect on the past year, and share which of the 104(!) podcast episodes they have recorded were some of their favorites. Then, Sam speaks with Heawon Hake about how family secrets can affect and damage a family. Heawon describes the difference between good and bad secrets, which types of secrets must be disclosed, and the types of ego defenses that result from a festering family secret.
Heawon Hake (she/her), LCSW-R, ASAC, is a Korean American psychotherapist with 34 years of experience across clinical, community and nonprofit work. Her newly published memoir, Daughter of Korean Freud, is a heartbreaking and raw account of how her work as a counselor resurfaced childhood wounds and allowed her to connect with freedom and healing in the process.
Connect with Heawon:
www.koreanamericanpsychotherapist.comthewayofkap@gmail.comInstagram @thewayofkapMentioned in this episode:
Christie’s highlighted episodes: Intergenerational Trauma & Internal Family Systems with Natalie Hung (Apple / Spotify)Ancestral Healing Work with Chi Young Kim (Apple / Spotify)Racialization and Reconnecting with Ancestors with Natalie Hung (Apple / Spotify)Sam’s highlighted episode: ADHD & Partnerships with Suzanne Eng (Apple / Spotify)Diana’s highlighted episodes: People-Pleasing and Codependency (Apple / Spotify)The Drama Triangle (Apple / Spotify)Stepping Out of the Drama Triangle (
Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.
Find a Therapist.
Join our Clinician Community.
Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana chats with Dr. Matt Poon about growing up with Asian parents, the pitfalls of perfectionism, and how we can expand our mindset to live a fuller and more balanced life. Dr. Poon shares how he helps clients slow down, reflect, and move away from binary thinking, and how talking openly about struggles or perfectionism can help us all feel supported and less alone.

Dr. Matt Poon (he/him) is a licensed clinical psychologist practicing virtually in NYC. His practice specializes in working with high-performing professionals who struggle with perfectionism, work-life balance, and relationship issues.
Connect with Matt:
Website: www.drmattpoon.comInstagram: @drmattpoon
Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.
Find a Therapist.
Join our Clinician Community.
Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Christie is joined by NYC-based clinical psychologist, Dr. Yun Chen, to discuss what it’s like to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help mitigate the pain that might come with living with OCD. They explore the ways in which the tenets of ACT can help people live fuller lives through learning to address and cope with negative thought patterns, as well as accept and make the best of their situation. Christie and Dr. Chen also discuss some steps for quieting an especially powerful intrusive thought and how ACT can be applicable or resonant with the Asian population.

Connect with Dr. Yun Chen:
cbt@dryunchen.comdryunchen.comYoutube
Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.
Find a Therapist.
Join our Clinician Community.
Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Diana (@therapywithdiana) sits down with Pallavi Ankolekar (@healingwithpallavi) to talk about how growing up as a child of immigrants can the ways we navigate our finances. They discuss how generational differences in attitudes towards work and rest also translate into how we use money for bare necessities vs pleasure. They also talk about the guilt that can arise from using money on ourselves, and how a scarcity mindset often prevents folks with immigrant backgrounds from taking career-related risks or the space and time to slow down.

Pallavi Ankolekar (she/her), LCSW, is a 1.5 generation South Asian therapist currently living in DC but licensed to practice in NY and NJ. She specializes in trauma and incorporate many different modalities including EMDR through an overall relational lens.
Connect with Pallavi:
Instagram @healingwithpallavihttps://www.steadynyc.com/pallavi@steadynyc.comMentioned in this episode:
Ramit Sethi's How to Get Rich on Netflix
Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.
Find a Therapist.
Join our Clinician Community.
Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh

This week, Sam is rejoined by Minji (our very own Bridges intern) for the second installment of the Grad School Diaries mini-series. Minji shares updates from her second and final year of her program, what it’s been like to see clients for the first time, and the joys and challenges of practicing therapy in the real world. She also opens up about personal lessons she’s learned from being on the other side of the room as the therapist.

After nearly a decade in the creative industry, Minji (she/her) is currently a counseling psychology student at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles. She is especially interested in working with Asian, Asian diasporic/immigrant individuals, couples, and families, as well those navigating interracial relationships or other cultural challenges. She loves chatting about all things mental health, career-changing, and dogs (bonus points if poodles), so don’t hesitate to connect with Minji at mkim108@gmail.com.
Mentioned in the episode:
Couples Therapy (Showtime)Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel
Bridges Mental Health aims to connect Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian Americans (APISA) with culturally responsive mental health professionals and resources. We hope to make mental health care more accessible and approachable across the Asian diaspora.
Find a Therapist.
Join our Clinician Community.
Write to us with comments & questions, we'd love to hear from you.
@bridgesmentalhealth
bridgesmentalhealthnyc@gmail.com
buymeacoffee.com/bridgesmh