Interview with Thaen Saelee: Mental Health and Telehealth Practices during the Pandemic

We had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Thaen Saelee, an Iu Mien Clinical Psychologist based in Oregon, who told us about her experience growing up in Oakland and Richmond as a refugee from the Secret War in Laos. Dr. Saelee reflects on her college journey, experiences that influenced her to become a clinical psychologist, and being an Iu Mien woman in the field. She then shares how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the needs of her clients, allowing them to access mental health services through telehealth.

The full transcript is available here.

Timestamps:

00:00:03 What it means to be an Iu Mien refugee

00:04:42 Growing up in East Oakland

00:09:30 Iu Mien group at UC Berkeley

00:13:14 Path to being a clinical psychologist

00:19:20 Implementation of telehealth in practice

00:25:21 Program for Southeast Asian youths during the pandemic

00:32:26 Concluding remarks