The Student View

Introducing Hong Bui and a Focus on Lived Experiences of Youth and Families

The Student View

Introducing Hong Bui and a Focus on Lived Experiences of Youth and Families

By Hong Bui, MS
SCCAP Student Representative

I am grateful to join the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) leadership team and introduce myself as the new SCCAP Student Representative for the 2024-2026 term. I received my B.S. in Psychology and certificate in Education Studies from Yale University. Currently, I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Maryland-College Park, under the mentorship of Dr. Andrea Chronis-Tuscano.

I am a proud Vietnamese-American, first generation, low-income, college graduate. My journey, as well as the framework with which I approach my research, starts with my parents. As their language broker, I learned from a young age the in’s and out’s of paying bills, scheduling appointments, and navigating life in a new country alongside my parents. Where my parents could not contribute their English, they contributed their time. My father tutored me in mathematics until the content went over his head and my mother taught me Vietnamese, reminding me the importance of retaining my “mother tongue.” Their approach to education acknowledged what was lacking but also focused on what was available at the time. I maintained this mentality throughout school; took advantage of available educational opportunities, earned recognition by QuestBridge (an organization dedicated to supporting high-achieving, low-income high school students), and earned a full scholarship to Yale University. Despite this, I often hesitated to speak up in small seminars, or ask questions in undergraduate classes, for fear that my comments might reveal that I did not belong. As one might suspect, this strategy was incredibly isolating. It was not until I met other students from similar backgrounds that I realized the strength of sharing our common experiences.

In my professional work, I have also had the privilege of witnessing the power of shared lived experiences as a group intervention leader in two different settings targeting management of chronic disorders (i.e., college students with ADHD, teens with celiac and their parents). Although participants do, of course, appreciate the content and skills, time and time again, they cite the opportunity to develop a sense of community through shared experiences as one of the most valuable aspects of group skills training.  

My research focuses on parent-child relationships, parenting, and parent psychopathology and the impact of these factors on children’s socioemotional development across the lifespan, specifically within the areas of ADHD and anxiety. Our lab has started to incorporate community-based participatory approaches in our research to better understand barriers to parent and child screening of ADHD within primary care settings, navigating the parent-child dynamic at the transition to adulthood, and adapting evidence-based interventions to better address familial needs across the lifespan. Although we will not always be able to fully understand the lived experiences of the families with whom we work, we aim to provide spaces where their perspectives can be heard and affirmed. Furthermore, we seek opportunities to involve community partners at each stage of our work. We continue to be inspired by and to draw from the work of researchers and clinicians who have been diligently doing this work for far longer than we have.  

I am thrilled to join SCCAP, an organization committed to improving the mental health and resilient development of children, adolescents, and families with full commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. This year, I look forward to working with my fellow Student Representative, Amanda Bennett, to continue efforts to make SCCAP the go-to professional home for students in clinical child and adolescent psychology. We also hope to highlight work in line with the SCCAP’s Presidential Theme: “Lived Experiences of Youth and Families: What we Gain from Listening.”

We cannot do this work without the dedication of our fantastic student committee members who advance mentorship, professional development, and student achievement through our committees and award opportunities. Student members, be on the lookout for opportunities to get involved with the Student Development Committee, catch us at the APA Convention’s SCCAP Social Hour, and more! As always, we encourage student members to contact the student representatives (StudentListserv@sccap53.org) with any suggestions or ideas for improving existing initiatives or new programming!