I have an article published at PRI.org’s Global Nation this week that is the culmination of some research into the work of Asian Americans in the mental health field after the tragic teen suicide clusters in Palo Alto. Like many Silicon Valley communities, Palo Alto has a sizable (40% and growing) population of Asian Americans, including many hapas, and that racial breakdown is reflected amongst the youths who have committed suicide over the past few years. Recently I went to

“I need to know if you’re doing something stupid.” A mother shakes a fistful of bloody tissues while confronting her teenage daughter about fears that the girl is cutting herself. In this case, the “mother” is Stanford University psychiatrist Dr. Rona Hu and this scenario is playing out on a stage at Mills High School in Millbrae, California. It’s just up Highway 280 from Palo Alto, a wealthy Silicon Valley city that is known for being the home of Stanford University and