The Road to Healing, Rejuvenation, and Social Justice: Understanding Mental Health Challenges and Barriers to Mental Health Service Utilization among CUNY Asian American/Asian College Students

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Friday, March 13, 2026 | 6pm to 7:30pm

25 West 43rd Street, Suite 1000
between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan

In-Person: RSVP | Zoom: RSVP

In their study, Prof. Esther Son explores the mental health challenges and barriers to accessing services faced by Asian American/Asian college students at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, particularly after the pandemic. Focusing on ethnic variations, the research uses a mixed-methods approach, combining online surveys and Photovoice, to better understand these students’ unique experiences with mental health and service utilization. By identifying key challenges, the study aims to improve access to mental health services and promote greater equity for Asian American/Asian students on campus.

Project funded by the 2025 CUNY Faculty Research Support Program

Author Bio

Esther Son, MSW, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of the Department of Social Work at the College of Staten Island/CUNY and a Doctoral Faculty at the CUNY Graduate Center. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from Rutgers University and has completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University. Dr. Son’s research focuses on health disparities, disability policy, and culturally tailored interventions for marginalized populations. Her current research projects include the long-term impact of COVID-19 on Korean immigrant families of children and young adults with developmental disabilities, mental health challenges and service utilization of Asian American college students, and evaluating the impact of disability-specific curriculum exposure on the attitudes toward disability among social work students. In addition to her research, she is committed to advancing equity in education through her teaching and mentorship of students at undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels.