Being Chinese in the UK Psychology Field | the perks and pains of not fitting in + am I #BAME?

Being Chinese whilst studying, working and living in the UK for the past 7 years has been a curious experience. At university, and in the Clinical Psychology world more specifically, seeing fellow south east asians (let alone Chinese more specifically) are rare and far between in the English system. Here's my story!

☆ Timestamps ☆
0:00 Introduction
2:06 Why it's important in Clinical Psychology
2:44 My personal background, languages, accents (context)
3:52 Experiences at Uni - culture shock, fitting in, stereotypes of the Chinese, dating
10:43 Working in mental health
14:24 Why aren't these topics talked about?
16:39 Am I "BAME"? Why I don't resonate with the term
20:29 Being a "third culture" kid + try-lingual!
21:23 Privileges and perks
26:16 In 10 years time, I would like to see...

☆ About Me ☆
My name's Aika, I'm 24, Hong Kong Chinese & I'm a Trainee Clinical Psychologist at Oxford. I am starting my first year of the doctorate degree and hoping to document this 3 (+) year journey. I hope to de-mystify the clinical psychology route in the UK, increase the representation of diversity in the field and make Clinical Psychology and Oxbridge feel just a little bit more accessible and human if I can.

☆ Mentioned ☆

Other interesting reads:

☆ Disclaimer ☆
Views and opinions are my own and do not represent the views of the University of Oxford or Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. My videos are for informational and educational purposes only.

☆ OTHER INFO ☆

☆ MUSIC ☆

Subscriber count: 10342

[rawr]

I’m a south Asian from Hong Kong currently studying Psychology
in Canada. What you’re doing is amazing. It’s inspiring for many minorities studying and working in the mental health field that’s deemed as something irrelevant in most Asian cultures. Please keep it going with these conversations. Much much needed ♥️♥️ more power to you!!!!

[siyanye]

Hi Aika! I am Chinese from Guangdong who is currently studying Master's in the UK and also working towards the goal of being a clinical psychologist! I have been in the UK for almost 7 years now and I couldn't agree with you more. I totally understand how difficult the journey is (although I am probably not even halfway there haha). There aren't many opportunities for locals to begin with, let alone the international students:( But one day I saw your channel and I was like, wow, there is someone out there who came from the same background as me and she did it. You are so amazing, and you gave such inspiring and practical advice for anyone who is also looking for a future career in clinical psychology. You really give me the motivation to keep going. Thank you and please stay amazing:)

[BakenLondon]

This resonates a lot with me. Thank you for tackling this topic head on and raising awareness on the challenges we face in the UK.

[dutchsilentdiary]

I have a refugee background and I have been living in the Netherlands for 2 years. I am studying psychology in Dutch and aspire to be a clinical neuropsychologist. This video is so inspiring! The fact that you could work in mental health and be different than the general population. Thank you so much for all your video's!

[arielwong]

Really enjoyed this video as someone who’s been in the UK since 2012, identify as a hong konger, and working in the nhs/mental health field. Such an amazing video that I can resonate to and helps me to reshape my thoughts around being ethic minority but also the idea of BME stuff you talked about around 19:00.

Keep up with the great videos!! X

[DanCatJunior]

Hey the Aika, this is Stan from HK. Always love listening to stories along your DClinPsy journey. Such a refreshing and interesting topic for today's video!

[em_zyx]

I'm from Beijing, China, and I'm in 11th grade in high school. I want to be a clinical psychologist in the UK someday but I've also been constantly worried that the subconscious racism will stop me from getting any further in this career from univeristy. Thank you so much for sharing this, it made me feel much safer.

[RitaaLeci]

It was really interesting to get an idea of your experiences as a Chinese person studying here and working in the UK, thank you for sharing!

[spoinkthelaw]

Hi Aika, I'm a British Born Chinese student and I've just finished my bachelors of psychology degree this year, I am aiming to becoming a PWP and I just wanted to say your videos are great for information as well as just learning more and listening to another perspective. I also agree and sympthise with the points made in this video.

[skarrlettm.]

Ahhh Hong konger!!! I can resonate with u so much being a Chinese in Uk. I’ve moved to the Uk a year ago. I’m studying alevel next year and I’m definitely taking psychology. I’m so glad that I’ve found your channel, it’s gonna be very useful to me cuz I wanna be a psychologist too:))

[elenipanayiotou]

such an honest and interesting video, thank you for sharing again Aika!

[Thelilgenie]

Hi Aika! Love this video ❤️ Your comments about being a third culture kid and the “discomfort” of being assigned a minority label are definitely interesting and have made me reflect on my own experience as a South East Asian person in Australia. Although it can be jarring to be labeled, the label has actually enabled me to empathize with the experience of other minority groups, which in turn deepens my understanding of other people’s struggles and makes me a better ally. In my previous career as a solicitor, I remember walking into a client meeting with a white colleague and the client thought I was my colleague’s assistant. Ouff. I am now retraining to become a clinical psychologist and your videos are a constant source of inspiration and advice. Thank you so much ❤️ One good thing about Australian clinical psychology is that there’s fairly good Asian representation in the field. It’s definitely encouraging to see this. COVID has really ramped up the demand for mental health services, and I really hope the UK government takes this as an opportunity to increase representation in the field to meet the demands!

[leynachan]

聽到你講廣東話，真係好開心呀！I was born in Hong Kong but am living in the States now. I’m quite interested in studying psychology further and your channel has been very informative! I’m still figuring out how to find opportunities to delve deeper into the field; admittedly, the prospect of the future is rather intimidating, so I’m glad to have sources to give me a clearer idea of what I’d like to pursue in college and later on.

[Elena-bnyi]

Try-lingual hit home. I love your content, thanks for sharing your reflections <3

[jamsteracton]

Super interesting listening to your experience. Thanks for sharing!

[phoebehsieh]

Hi Aika! I always enjoy your videos:)
I am a Taiwanese working as an occupational therapist in NHS mental health service and I relate very much the things you talk about! I feel a bit relieved when I saw this as I always feel isolated in a way (not all of course) at work and not be able to have that sense of belonging. Thanks for sharing!

[ekner]

I hadn't heard the term third culture kid before, but man does it resonate with me. I'm gonna have to read about it properly to see what I can learn. I'm also new to your channel - trying to learn about what studying psychology is like since that's what I've decided for my career, and it's been helpful listening to your experiences. Thank you!

[petercorral]

Thanks for sharing your views and experiences. Very interesting.

[nataliecheung]

Hi Aika, it was lovely to watch your video. As a second-generation Hong Chinese Trainee, a lot of what you said resonated. I also hope to see more representation in our profession over the next 10 years! And can vouch for the fact I've only ever met one other qualified CP in my 9 years in the mental health profession! xx

[Makinen]

Thank you for sharing. Hong Kong Chinese here living in Bristol. What’s your approach on micro-aggression ? One main thing that caught me by surprise is the level of racism here. It was until recently that I decided I need to confront racism ( on a random wed afternoon) and I feel fucking great!