Hello, I’m Rachel.
Rachel Seungyun Shin, MSW, PhD Candidate.
Rachel is currently a fourth year counseling psychology doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her prior experiences of being a social worker providing mental health services as well as being a research coordinator conducting community-based research with diverse populations have led to a keen interest in understanding the roles of culture, race and social justice in the context of mental health equity. Rachel is passionate about advancing the practice, education, research of multicultural and social justice counseling psychology.
As a motivated individual with a strong work ethic and a positive attitude, I am committed to exemplifying excellence in advocacy, research, and service for others.
academic.
I am an academic researcher and educator focused on research encompassing topics including multicultural competence and training, social justice, liberation psychology, and understanding the experiences of the marginalized and disenfranchised in society. Notably, I strive to engage in research that not only sheds light on the lived experiences of the aforementioned populations, but also research that focuses on potential tangible outcomes in the pursuit of mental health equity.
Some of my current interests include :
Asian American mental health epidemiology, Asian American mental health equity, mentorship and risk factors/ protective factors surrounding Asian American students’ experiences in mental health training programs.
activist.
At the core of my professional and personal identity, I have an activist heart. The roots of my activism closely reflect the Brazilian philosopher, Paolo Freire (1921- 1997)’s concept of critical consciousness. I believe that it is imperative to be curious about and to question social and political systems, especially on their influences on perpetuating inequity and injustice. As importantly or perhaps more importantly, I am committed to not only questioning oppressive forces in systems, but also committed to taking action to promote social change.
I strive to live out these commitments in clinical practice, research, teaching as well as within interactions with peers, colleagues, mentors and mentees, and in my every day life as an individual with intersectional identities of both privilege and oppression.
therapist.
As a clinician, my conceptualization of treatment is designed by a critical assessment of the needs, desires and lived experiences of the clients who sit across from me. And so, my approach looks unique with each client and is eclectic in form. With some clients, our work can look like us walking side by side through the different galleries of the client’s life experiences while engaging in psychodynamically rooted talk therapy. And with other clients, our work can look like working through a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) top-down triangle worksheet and maybe even practicing some dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) distress tolerance skills together.
Globally, I use a Relational Cultural Framework (RCT) framework rooted in feminist theory and focus on a multicultural, anti-oppressive approach emphasizing mutual empathy and well-being through and within relationships.
human.
I am a human being who values integrity, virtue, compassion and social justice. These principles are the pillars of not only my professional identity and conduct, but also my personal life ethos.
Outside of these realms, I am a mother of two orange cats and volunteer on weekends at a local animal shelter leaning into my passion for animal welfare. I enjoy mindful walks around New York City, exploring new cafes, and reading books at the park.
Before committing to this life of psychology and activism, I once dreamt of becoming the first Korean-American musical actress on Broadway. You can find me nurturing my inner theatre kid on select weekends in karaoke rooms in NYC’s Koreatown.
Another domain of my identity is my creative expression.
Please feel free to scroll through some of my current selected visual projects.
