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The purpose of this article is to share the lessons learned from two life threatening illnesses I experienced just before and just after becoming a practicing psychotherapist. These experiences profoundly transformed my personal and professional trajectories. I will describe the details of my experience and then share the lessons and transformations that I continue to reap since being diagnosed. It is my hope that clinicians, supervisors, and professors might glean insights from my experience of serious illness as a graduate student and early career psychologist as to how they might support their colleagues, students, and patients when they face significant health issues.

The "model minority" myth (MMM) has far-reaching implications for Asian Americans in many settings, including medicine. For clinicians working with first-generation Asian American college students, this article considers 3 factors that affect how the MMM plays out in clinical care: clinicians' racial identity awareness, cross-racial dynamics, and the extent to which a patient has internalized racism or oppression.Case JJ is a student doing a rotation in a university clinic. JJ's patient introduces himself as "Todd" and is an 18-year-old Chinese American student who states that he hasn't been feeling well. As JJ talks with Todd, JJ learns that Todd studies electrical engineering and that his parents, brother, and sister run a restaurant in a neighboring state. JJ notices Todd's flat affect and difficulty maintaining eye contact 1 and asks Todd about his courses, part of a curriculum widely known for its rigor and intensity. As JJ leafs through Todd's health record, a clinic note from 3 months ago suggests Todd experienced suicidal ideation. 2,3 JJ continues to try to engage Todd, who says, "Classes are fine. My engineering project group goes out for drinks without me, though, typically leaving me with group problem sets to do alone. I hate that." JJ responds, "I see why you hate it: that's a lot of pressure." Todd denies that this is the case. "Sorry," he says, "I shouldn't have brought it up. It doesn't matter. I just have to get this degree so I can help my family and make my parents happy we came to this country."JJ wonders what to say next. CommentaryResearch on Asian American students overwhelmingly focuses on the existence and impact of the "model minority" myth (MMM), especially on academic performance. The myth suggests that Asian Americans work hard and are successful despite racial

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