UH Hilo Professor of Psychology Bryan Kim’s research shines light on Asian American cultural values, experience, and mental health

Posted on January 30, 2026March 2, 2026 by Staff

Nationally recognized for his research, Professor Kim hopes his breakthrough studies aid mental health professionals who work with Asian Americans to be more knowledgeable in assisting their clients.

Bryan Kim casual portrait with ocean in the background. At right is another image of glass covered building with red roof and trees in the landscape. — Bryan Kim and University Classroom Building where the Department of Psychology is located, UH Hilo (Courtesy photo and file photo)

By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.

This story on Bryan Kim’s research profile was first published on the website Keaohou that features UH Hilo faculty research and scholarly activity.

Psychology professor Bryan Kim says his research interest in multicultural counseling psychology largely stems from his experiences growing up in Hawaiʻi as a 1.5-generation Asian American, meaning someone who has moved to a new country as a child.

“I was born in South Korea and immigrated to Hawaiʻi when I was nine years old,” says Kim. “I grew up in the Kaimuki area in Honolulu. This upbringing has led me to the research work that I’m doing now.”

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo professor’s areas of expertise are in multicultural counseling process and outcome, measurement of cultural constructs, counselor education and supervision, and immigrant experiences. Kim’s current research examines the effects of culture-specific counseling interventions and client enculturation/acculturation (e.g., cultural values) on counseling process and outcome.

Kim received his bachelor of education in high school science education (1992) and master of education in school counseling (1995) from UH Mānoa. He received his doctorate in counseling, clinical, and school psychology with an emphasis in counseling psychology (2000) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Hawaiʻi.

Prior to joining UH Hilo in 2006 (receiving tenure in 2008), Kim was a tenured associate professor of counseling psychology at UC Santa Barbara (2002-2006) and before that a tenure-track assistant professor of psychology at the University of Maryland (2000-2002).

Kim has over 100 publications (including nine psychological instruments), most with deep dives into Asian American cultural and psychological experiences.

Among many leadership and scholarly accolades since the launch of his career, in 2005 and again in 2010, Kim received the “ACA Research Award” from the American Counseling Association. In 2023, Kim was recognized among the world’s top scientists in the field of psychology, according to the 2023 best university rankings by Research.com — he ranked No. 4,076 U.S.; No. 7,317 world; D-index 34; citations 8,297; publications 80.

The work of a prolific scholar

Out of all his published work, Kim says his article, “The Asian Values Scale: Development, Factor Analysis, Validation, and Reliability” (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1999), has made the most impact in his field with over 1,300 citations.

“This article was the first to make available to researchers an instrument to assess one’s adherence to traditional Asian cultural values,” says Kim. “My follow-up research shows that one’s adherence to Asian values has significant influence on Asian Americans’ attitudes toward help-seeking from mental health professionals and the way in which they engage in the therapy process. This has helped clinicians to provide more effective counseling and therapy to Asian Americans.”

On another topic, unexpectedly, Kim’s extensive investigation into the cultural experiences of Asian American college students has brought to light some disturbing racial tensions among their own peers.

“I conducted a qualitative research study on the experiences of 1.5 generation Asian American college students on their adaptation experiences in the U.S.,” says Kim. “One of the surprising findings was that some of them were mistreated by members of their own ethnic group because they had not adapted enough to the U.S. culture. This suggested that some people carry internalized racism against the members of their own ethnic group. This was quite a troubling finding.”

Kim recently completed a study examining the relationship between child-parent’s Asian cultural values difference on the level of family conflict and child’s mental health. “We found that greater the values difference, there were more conflicts and the child had lower self-esteem and life satisfaction,” he explains. “I’m continuing with this line of research.”

The prolific scholar is currently finalizing a chapter for the American Psychological Association’s APA Handbook of Counseling Psychology, the foundational reference book for professionals and researchers. “This chapter provides an exploration into the current research trends in counseling psychology and how it sufficiently (or not sufficiently) represents the identify of counseling psychology and its professional values,” he says of the work.

Student impact and looking to the future

Professor Kim has worked with many students on research studies. “For students who are interested in pursuing a doctoral degree, this type of research can be valuable in making them more competitive. Other students gained greater knowledge about counseling psychology through their involvement.”

Kim says he hopes his research work has aided mental health professionals who work with Asian Americans to be more knowledgeable about how to better assist their clients.

“I’d like to continue working on my research program on multicultural counseling process and outcome, measurement of cultural constructs, counselor education and supervision, and immigrant experiences.”

For more on Professor Kim, visit his bio page.