Hello,
Welcome to my blog. I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Roger Lin, and I am a licensed psychologist. I am married and we have two kids and we live in the greater Atlanta area. I have an active lifestyle, playing sports, traveling, and running around with my kids. I am second generation Asian American. My parents were born in Taiwan, and immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970's. I was born and raised in Chicago, IL.
Here is how I became a psychologist:
I studied Chemistry Pre-Med in undergrad. I attended the University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana). My paternal grandfather was a chemistry teacher in Taiwan, and I enjoyed studying science. As I went through undergrad, I worked in the local hospital as a patient transporter and joined other premed volunteer experiences. I went on to take the MCATs and began applying for medical schools during senior year of college. During that process I grew a lot in my Christian faith, so I felt convicted to pursue a career in pastoral ministry.
So after graduating from college, I applied for seminary and began studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL) towards a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree. During this time, I began pastoral ministry working at an Asian immigrant church. As I finished my M.Div., I began encountering mental health issues in the church and around our community. People struggling with issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, ADHD, continued to walk into my office. I decided to stay an extra year in seminary to pursue a Master of Theology (Th.M.) to study counseling. This was the first taste of psychological study. I spent the year studying the history of psychology, particularly its history with the church.
After completing my Th.M., I was also finishing up my ordination requirements for my denomination to be called into a full-time pastorate. Instead of taking that route, I decided to continue my studies in psychology. The classes I took in my Th.M. fulfilled the prerequisite requirements for the doctoral program, so I was able to apply and be accepted into the Doctor of Psychology program at Wheaton College (IL). I focused my studies on the integration of Christianity and Psychology and Biblical Counseling, in addition to all the required classes for the APA-accredited program. I had clinical training at the college counseling center, Meier Clinics' Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), and the Central DuPage Pastoral Counseling Center, which is an outpatient private practice group.
My research project for my doctoral dissertation was a meta-analysis of Asian American acculturation and help-seeking attitudes. I had initially planned to study just the Taiwanese American population, but during my literature review, I discovered that there were over 80 studies conducted on various Asian American subgroups and their relationship between acculturation and help-seeking attitudes. This led me to conduct a meta-analysis on all of these studies to present correlations in the literature. My results discovered that 1) Each Asian American subgroup has distinct acculturation and help-seeking attitudes from one another; 2) Acculturation is positively correlated with help-seeking attitudes (meaning that the more a person identifies with Western culture, the more positive their attitudes will be towards psychology); and that 3) Each subsequent generation has more positive help-seeking attitudes (meaning 3rd generation Asian Americans have more positive attitudes towards seeking psychological help vs. 2nd generation Asian Americans).
For my predoctoral internship, I trained at the Salina Regional Medical Center (KS). I had clinical training in outpatient, inpatient, and IOP settings. I also had the opportunity to provide therapy to active duty soldiers on Fort Riley (Junction City, KS).
For my postdoctoral internship, I trained at the Samaritan Center of Puget Sound (Seattle, WA). I spent 2.5 years being supervised as a licensed psychologist. I had opportunities to consult with local leaders and partner with churches to provide mental health care to the community while maintaining a full client caseload.
As of 2022, I have 8 years of experience as a licensed psychologist. I have maintained a full caseload throughout my career. I provide therapy to children, adolescents, young adults, adults, and older adults, individually, couples, and families. I am active in the community advocating for mental health, provide consultations to leaders, and facilitate mental health workshops to organizations. I have an office in Johns Creek, GA, and through PSYPACT, I am licensed to provide telehealth therapy to 28 states.
I have learned a lot over the years, and I hope to provide helpful information to you through this blog.