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Qiuyi Wei,  PsyD, is a 2026 graduate of the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology  at  Antioch University, Seattle.

Dissertation Committee:

Melissa Kennedy, PhD, Committee Chair

Yuxin Sun, PhD, Committee Member

Christopher Heffner, PsyD, PhD, Committee Member

Keywords

depression, anxiety, Chinese immigrants, psychotherapy, counseling, motivation, engagement, culture, qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Chinese immigrants and temporary residents struggling with depressive symptoms and their process of seeking and accepting psychotherapy support. The study aimed to describe the factors that motivated participants to enter therapy for depression while also addressing their internal concerns about treatment. Nine female-identified Chinese immigrant adults with such experiences were recruited. Participants’ perceptions of their depressive symptoms and the factors contributing to their decision to seek professional therapy were explored through in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted in Mandarin. The interview transcripts were analyzed in Mandarin using interpretative phenomenological analysis, through which four group experiential themes were generated and later translated into English: (a) timing to begin therapy开始心理治疗的时机, (b) new understanding of depression对抑郁症的新认识, (c) facing up to mental health struggles正视心理健康问题, and (d) bridging information gap on psychotherapy弥合心理治疗的信息鸿沟. The findings highlight participants’ perspectives on seeking therapy, which may help clinicians provide more culturally responsive care while increasing the motivation of individuals from similar cultural backgrounds to engage in treatment. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/).

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 Qiuyi Wei, PsyD, 2026
ORCID iD 0009-0001-3516-9514

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