Who We Are

SSWANA counselor talking to SSWANA student

Counselors specializing in work with Asian and Pacific Islander Students

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) aims to provide cultural sensitive services to underserved populations.

Appointments

To make appointments with the counselors, please call (510) 642-9494.

Let's Talk Drop-In Consultations

Some counselors provide drop-in counseling and their WeJoinIn links can be found on our Let's Talk Schedule Page.

Flier of api counselors names, photo, and specialties.

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Photo

Name

Bio/Interests

Kin Ming Chan, PhD

Licensed Clinical Psychologist 

Kin Ming Chan, PhD, joined CAPS in 2009. He is Chinese and from Hong Kong. He received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Western Michigan University. His main roles in CAPS are providing counseling services for students, offering drop-in consultations, running counseling groups, and providing supervision to training staff. He is bilingual in English and Cantonese.

Clinical interests: multicultural issues, LGBTQ issues, mindfulness, unconditional self-love, and self-empowerment.

Additional Languages: Cantonese

Denise Goitia CSW

Denise Goitia, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Denise Goitia joined UHS in 2020 as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She was previously working for the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health. Denise received her BA in Anthropology from Georgetown University and her MSW from Smith College. She has a background in massage, holistic health, and herbalism. She loves supporting local farms, hiking, cooking, and riding her bike.

Clinical Interests: Trauma and resilience (EMDR trained), somatic and spiritual work, internal family systems/integrating parts work, person in community, holistic approaches including mindfulness practices, LGBTQIA+ support, anti-racism and cultural humility, international students including undocumented and refugee/asylees, couples and families, graduate students, transfer students, non-traditional aged students, feminist theory, and identity development.

Additional Languages: Spanish

Tiffany Lin

Tiffany Hsiang Lin, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Tiffany Hsiang Lin first joined UC Berkeley as a student, receiving her BA in Ethnic Studies and Sociology. She then went on to earn her masters degrees in Social Work at Columbia University and Social Science at University of Chicago. Tiffany returned to UC Berkeley in 2015 as the first dedicated Confidential Advocate at the PATH to Care Center and later joined Counseling and Psychological Services in 2019. Currently, Tiffany serves as the designated counselor for the CAPS satellite office at the School of Social Welfare. She's also part of the UHS Transgender Care Team. In her spare time, Tiffany enjoys knitting, cooking, jigsaw puzzles, and video/board games.

Clinical interests: trauma (EMDR trained), sexual/intimate partner violence, LGBTQ care, vicarious trauma and burnout, identity development, family systems, social justice, and multicultural/intersectional counseling.

Jeff Lee, LCSW

Jeff Lee, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker 

Jeff Lee (he/him) grew up in the Bay Area and is a 5th generation Asian American. He comes from a background in community mental health and NPOs, with previous experiences working with emancipated foster youth, homeless populations, and the AAPI community.

Clinical interests: anxiety, holistic wellness, adjustments/transition, identity development, and sports psychology.

Drop-in Hours: Wednesdays 4-6pm (Asian Pacific American Student Development)

Karen Lee Tsugawa, LMFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Karen Lee Tsugawa, LMFT joined the CAPS team in 2008. Karen graduated from UCLA with a major in Psychology and minor in Applied Developmental Psychology and then received her Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Northwestern University in Chicago. Karen is originally from Hong Kong and grew up in Southern California. 

She currently sees individuals and couples for counseling at CAPS and enjoys working with the diverse student population at UC Berkeley. Karen is currently serving a dual role as the CAPS Clinical Coordinator assisting with day-to-day clinical operations and various projects supporting our clinical programs, and as the CAPS Referral Coordinator serving as a liaison to therapists and psychiatrists in the community.

Clinical interests: Mental health, college adjustment, transitions, relationship issues, family dynamics, multicultural identities, and Asian/Asian American identity development.

Cynthia Medina, PhD

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Interests: Integration of mindfulness, meditation, and cognitive-behavioral interventions for reducing depression and anxiety, family of origin issues, attachment, relationship concerns, career development, Latina/o mental health and academic persistence, multicultural identity development, sports psychology, discrimination and microaggression, and working with underrepresented student communities (students of color, undocumented, LGBTQ, first-generation, transfer).

Additional Languages: Spanish

Drop-in Hours: Wednesdays, 3-5pm

Raquel Miller LCSW CAPS

Raquel Castellanos Miller, LCSW

Raquel Castellanos Miller, LCSW, worked at MarinHealth in the IOP program prior to joining UHS, and, before that, she resided in Montana for 27 years. After Raquel received her MSW from the University of Montana in 2015, she worked for 4 years at the Flathead Indian Reservation as a school social worker and in a private practice. 

Raquel enjoys hiking, outdoor activities, and has been focused on her engagement in Tibetan Buddhism for over 20 years. She’s served on the Dharmata Foundation Board of Directors in Richmond, CA and as the Development Director for Ewam Garden of 1,000 Buddhas in Montana, a project dedicated to the religious and cultural preservation of Tibetan Buddhism. She enjoys attending meditation retreats.

Additionally, Raquel founded Women Make Movies Missoula, a feminist film festival, and the Family Law Advice Clinic, a project of Montana Legal Services. She co-founded Working for Equality and Economic Liberation (WEEL), a grassroots organization addressing economic justice for low-income families, and founded the Western Region Welfare Activist Network, a twelve-state coalition of grassroots organizations focused on economic justice for low-income families. 

Raquel was an adjunct professor at the University of Montana’s School of Social Work where she served as the field supervisor for MSW candidates. Years later, she also taught MSW: Psychopathology and BSW: Interventions with Individuals and Families. Raquel was awarded the YWCA of Missoula Excellence Award for Empowerment of Women (2005) and has co-authored "Working for Equality and Economic Liberation: Advocacy and Education for Welfare Reform,” in the Affiliate Journal of Women and Social Work.

Clinical interests: Trauma-informed care, mindfulness-based therapies (ACT, DBT, MBSR, CBT), and resilience and strengths focus approach. Raquel trained in a Native American developed group process for healing generational and historical trauma (Healing Broken Hearts) and in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She enjoy group psychotherapy and working with clients of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. 

Additional Languages: Spanish

Kusha Murarka, PsyD

Kusha Murarka, PsyD

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Kusha (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist who joined the UHS CAPS team in 2017 after working at Roosevelt University in Chicago for 8 years. She received her PsyD at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in 2007. Kusha loves working with university students using a culturally centered and intersectional social identity lens. She has worked with university students across the US since 2005 and enjoys providing counseling, group therapy, and outreach to students as well as supervision and training to mental health professionals. She is currently the SSWANA wellness counselor providing support and advocacy for this population on campus. In her free time, she stays active indoors and outdoors with her family through cooking, singing, dancing, hiking, dining al fresca, and running after her two young sons.

Clinical interests: Multicultural counseling, inclusion, identity development, family of origin, relationship and interpersonal concerns, SSWANA mental health, immigrant families, low socioeconomic backgrounds, depression, suicide prevention, social anxiety, alcohol abuse, group therapy, wellness, balance, and graduate student life.

Drop-in Hours: Fridays, 10am-12pm

Alyssa Panyawai

Alyssa Kurth, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Interim Referral Coordinator

Alyssa (she/her/hers) is a Thai-Filipino American who spent most of her childhood growing up in Bangkok, Thailand. She joined CAPS in 2017. Alyssa provides counseling and serves as the interim referral coordinator, supporting students in navigating finding a provider off-campus and serving as a liaison to mental health providers in the community. 
Diane Pena

Diana Peña, PhD

Licensed Psychologist

Undocumented Student Program Counselor

Centers for Educational Equity and Excellence Counselor

Diana Peña (she/they), received their PhD as a first-generation college student from the University of Oregon and joined the CAPS team in 2013. Diana coordinates the Undocumented Student Program’s mental health services at UC Berkeley, providing counseling support to undocumented students and consultation to the campus at large. 

As a queer Chicanx psychologist who applies Liberation Psychology and Social Justice frameworks to practice, their areas of focus include undocumented student resilience, LGBTQ-affirming therapy, spirituality, and somatic/body-centered healing. Diana stands on the shoulders of her Mexican immigrant parents and is committed to decolonizing mental health practices in the service of Black, Indigenous, Undocumented and POC communities.

Clinical interests: Immigrant and undocumented student mental health, QTPOC-affirmative therapy, spirituality, Latinx family health, grief and loss, chronic health conditions, mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Additional Languages: Spanish

Call (510) 664-7483 to make an appointment with the Undocumented Students Program.

Drop-in Hours: Tuesdays, 1-3pm

Junichi Shimaoka

Junichi Shamaoka, PsyD

Junichi joined the CAPS team in 2019. Prior to joining UHS, Junichi was a CAPS psychologist at UC Santa Barbara and the University of Michigan. He received his PsyD from Widener University and serves on the board of the Association for College Counseling Center Outreach. Junichi is passionate about Balinese Gamelan music and he’s a beginner rock climber. He used to volunteer to raise/train service dog puppies!

Clinical interests: Social/cultural/personal identity issues of all types (race/ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, immigration/national origin, ability status, etc.), Asian Pacific Islander/Desi-American communities, couples and relationship concerns, outreach/prevention/community engagement, grad students, international students, and other marginalized and underserved students.

Additional Languages: Japanese

Drop-in Hours: Wednesday, 2-3:30pm (in-person at Chavez 150)

Christine Zhou, PhD

Licensed Psychologist

Director of Operations, UC Berkeley Global Institute for Counseling and Student Mental Health(link is external)  

College of Engineering Satellite Office Coordinating Counselor

Shuangmei (Christine) Zhou joined CAPS in the summer of 2012. She received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Minnesota, completed her internship at UCLA CAPS, and her post-doc at UC Berkeley CAPS. She was a staff psychologist at Michigan State University for three years before returning to Berkeley. Christine is the lead psychologist coordinating the CAPS satellite office at the College of Engineering (CoE). She has been working with CoE since 2012, providing counseling to students and consultations for faculty and staff. Christine also directs the Global Institute for Counseling and Student Mental Health(link is external) where CAPS staff collaborate with partners both nationally and internationally. In her role as director she's been conducting research and  providing training and consultation on the latest topics related to college students mental health. 

Clinical interests: multicultural counseling, working with underserved/marginalized populations, working with science and engineering students, international students and AAPI students.

Additional Languages: Mandarin Chinese

Health Promotion

The Health Promotion Unit at University Health Services coordinates a wide range of educational and outreach activities to promote the health and well-being of Cal students, including academic health courses, individual appointments, workshops, volunteer and internship opportunities, and consultation and training.

Photo

Name

Bio/Interests

Kathy Kodama

Cathy Kodama, MPH

Director

Cathy Kodama came to UC Berkeley as an open-minded but (mostly) inexperienced freshman in 1973. Being in, and at, Berkeley was a life-changing experience that she's still experiencing. Cathy was pre-law, but in her sophomore year she fell into being a peer educator in women's health and never looked back.

Cathy had her first full-time job at UHS in Medical Records. From there, she hopscotched to the Health Education unit, to graduate school in public health, to various community volunteer projects, and back to Health Education (now called Health Promotion) at UHS. Cathy is a baby boomer, UC Berkeley alum, health educator, and firm believer in health, happiness, equality, and social action. She is a third-generation Japanese-American with all the cultural richness and assimilation experiences that come along with that. Cathy has been involved in numerous regional and national organizations, including serving as President of the Pacific Coast College Health Association and on the board of the American College Health Association.

Cathy's passionate interests are: 1) the role of drugs in society, 2) sexuality and relationships, and 3) some TV shows. Her particular abilities tend to be daydreaming (in the professional world we call it "visioning") and administrative work. She loves talking about life with students, whose perspectives are so enlightening and inspiring.

Campus Partners

Asian American Pacific Islander Student Development

The Asian Pacific American Student Development (APASD) office serves the changing needs of Asian Pacific American (APA) students on the UC Berkeley campus. The APASD office provides programs and supports activities that further the educational goals of the APA students and enhance their opportunities for academic success.