Hybrid Film Screening and Discussion: Engaging Asian American Youth and Their Families in Quality Mental Health Services

Palo Alto, CA – The Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education, in partnership with Stanford Health Library, the American Medical Women’s Association, and Asian Health Services, is proud to present a hybrid film screening and panel discussion titled “Engaging Asian American Youth and Their Families in Quality Mental Health Services”. The event aims to address the mental health needs of Asian American youth and explore strategies to enhance their treatment engagement.

The first part of the event features a documentary movie screening of “Try Harder!”, directed and produced by Debbie Lum. The movie depicts the stressful academic environment of Lowell High School in San Francisco, a school with a majority Asian American student body, where high-achieving seniors share their dreams and anxieties about getting into a top university. The film raises questions about the value of college education and the toll it takes on students’ mental health.

The second part of the event is a panel discussion featuring experts in the field of mental health and Asian American youth. The panelists include Dr. Rona Hu, Stanford CARE Director of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Kian Mojabi, a Lowell High School graduate featured in Try Harder!, and Cathy Zhao, Chief Laughing Officer of Laugh It Out Hub. The panel discussion will be moderated by Lisa Kim, Senior Manager of Media Relations at Stanford Health Care, School of Medicine.

The discussion will examine the reasons behind the low utilization of mental health services by Asian American youth and their families and explore strategies to enhance their treatment engagement. Research indicates that although Asian American youth have similar rates of mental health problems as non-Hispanic White youth in the United States, they have a higher level of unmet mental health needs than their counterparts. For example, Yeh and colleagues (2003) found that 72% of Asian/Pacific Islander at-risk youth had unmet mental health needs compared to 31% of their Non-Hispanic White counterparts.

The in-person event will take place on May 10th at Hoover Pavilion, 211 Quarry Road, Suite 201, Palo Alto, CA 94303. The movie screening will be held from 5:30 PM to 7 PM, followed by the panel discussion from 7:10 PM to 8 PM. Free parking is available for in-person attendees.

To attend in person, please email Nina Li at [email protected]

Virtual attendees may view the film between May 6th-10th using the private link (Link: tryharderfilm.com/stanfordcare, PW: stanfordcare2023!) and join the live-streaming panel discussion on May 10th at 7:10 PM PST to ask questions.

To attend virtually, please register at https://stanford.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JMG9oeVmRzmaeeAs9ifuzg#/.

This event is sponsored by Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education in partnership with Stanford Heath Library, the American Medical Women’s Association, and Asian Health Services. The Center extends their thanks to community partners Laugh it Out Hub, Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club, and Asian Leaders Alliance.