Bryan S. K. Kim, Ph.D.

Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Psychology

Dr. Bryan S. K. Kim joined the UH Hilo's Department of Psychology in 2006 as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor with tenure in 2008. From 2008 to 2020, he served as the Director of the MA Program in Counseling Psychology. From 2020 to 2025, Dr. Kim served as the Chair of the Division of Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Currently, Dr. Kim is the Chairperson of the Department of Psychology.

Dr. Kim received the Ph.D. in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology (Emphasis: Counseling Psychology) from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2000. He also has a Master of Education degree in School Counseling (1995) and a Bachelor of Education degree in high school science education (1992), both from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu. Dr. Kim is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC196) in the State of Hawaiʻi.

Prior to joining UH Hilo, Dr. 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).

Dr. Kim has over 100 publications (including 9 psychological instruments) and over 110 presentations in the areas of multicultural counseling process and outcome, measurement of cultural constructs, counselor education and supervision, and immigrant experiences. His current research examines the effects of culture-specific counseling interventions and client enculturation/acculturation (e.g., cultural values) on counseling process and outcome. Dr. Kim's interest in multicultural counseling psychology largely stems from his experiences growing up in Hawai'i as a 1.5-generation Asian American.

Dr. Kim is the immediate past editor (2020-2025) of The Counseling Psychologist , past editor (2015-2019) of Asian American Journal of Psychology , and past associate editor (2008-2023) of Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development. He also serves as a consulting editor (2005-present) of _Journal of Counseling Psychology .

For his scholarly contributions, Dr. Kim received the “Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions” from the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) in 2003. In 2005 and again in 2010, Dr. Kim received the “ACA Research Award” from the American Counseling Association and “The MECD [Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development] Editor's Award” from the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Development. In 2006, Dr. Kim received "The Fritz and Linn Kuder Early Career Scientist/Practitioner Award" from the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17 of 20 American Psychological Association). In 2008, Dr. Kim received the “Emerging Professional Award” from the Society of the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45 of American Psychological Association) and was awarded “Fellow” status by the American Psychological Association (2008 - Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, Div 29; 2011 - Society of Counseling Psychology, Div 17; 2011 - Society of the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues, Div 45). In 2010, Dr. Kim was awarded “Fellow” status by the Asian American Psychological Association. In 2013, Dr. Kim was awarded the “Emerging Leadership Award” by the APA’s Committee on Socioeconomic Status. In 2020, Dr. Kim was recognized as the “Honored Speaker” for the Fifth Annual Patricia Arredondo Diversity and Equity Speaker Series at Arizona State University. In 2022, Dr. Kim received the University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching and the Asian American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Contributions Award.