May Rising Star: Jie Deng, LCSW

Uwill’s Monthly Rising Star is a new program that acknowledges one counselor every month who has “shined bright” in their first year at Uwill.

Congratulations Jie Deng, LCSW! Since joining the Uwill team, Karen has completed over 100 sessions across California and Colorado.

Check out our interview with Jie to learn about the value in being a bilingual therapist, how Uwill helped save her license in California, and advice for students getting ready for the summer.

As a Mandarin speaker, what’s the reaction that you’ve seen from students that are able to do a session with you in another language?
Some are more comfortable talking about things in Mandarin. And there are a lot of them who will share with me that if they talk in English they will never be able to verbalize their feelings because they just don’t know how. They don’t have the vocabulary to do it. Just because they can speak fluent English doesn’t mean they can just express anything in English. 

There’s also the feeling of connection with someone with a similar cultural background. If they mentioned something about the difficulty as an international student, because a lot of them actually are international students, I will share with them “all the processes you are going through right now, I went through like ten years ago.” So there is like a connection right away that this person may understand what I’m feeling right now. 

A lot of my clients are not Mandarin speakers that come from China or Taiwan or other places. There are students who have a Chinese background at home but they grew up in the US, so they speak perfect English and our session is in English. But when they try to find the provider they also want to look for someone like them. I get kids from all kinds of diverse backgrounds, like African American, Latino, and even other international students from Asia, from the Middle East, from India. And also I get Native American clients. So I guess, when you try to look for a provider on the platform you just want to see someone like you no matter what the similarity is. So, I think that’s why I’m really glad I joined Uwill because I want to add diversity for the team so the student can have a choice to see someone may they may feel like home somehow. 

What excites you the most about working with Uwill?
I think the most exciting thing for me is I actually found a way to use my California license! I got my California license and then I had to move to Colorado because of my family’s situation. Just before I joined Uwill I actually put my California license into inactive status because I just felt like I was just never going to use it in any way. Then Uwill just reached out to me and said “we’re looking for people who speak Mandarin that can provide clinical support to students.” I’m like “wow, that’s a fantastic way to do it!” Most of my clients now come from California so I think that’s really excited me. 

What aspect of your work would you say that you enjoy the most?
I would definitely say helping the students out. I mean, that’s why I joined social work, right? In the first phase of helping people and to see someone who is really struggling moving into a stage where they can manage their feelings, their lives and be able to figure out things on their own; I am just enjoying the journey with them and I hope they feel the same way. I just enjoy the things they bring up in their life and help me to understand youth better. A lot of them are younger than me, much younger than me, so I just feel a connection with the new world now. 

What is the most important lesson that you have learned through your work?
The most important thing I have learned is to be present with the student in the session. Don’t worry too much about the techniques you are using or the skills you’re presenting to them. If you are not listening, they pick it up right away. So I think the most important lesson for me is just to be present and focus on the connection, the relationship, and the empathy. I can give out the listening ear because a lot of times they feel better because they are heard and not because you are solving a problem for them. 

Do you have any advice for students who are going to be adjusting to new routines or being away from school during the summer?
There might be some challenges because the summer break is good for them but it also brings out some anxiety about, for example, where to live or how to arrange all those things before they leave the campus. They may have to go back to somewhere that was a trigger for them before. A lot of them have family issues and moving back to stay with family for extended time can make them feel anxious. So I think the advice I would give out is, hang in there and try to build up to your new routine. In school you have all these structures, you schedule around your study, classes, everything. So it’s more structured. At home, maybe it’s a little bit different. You have to work it out at the beginning of the summer break so you don’t feel lost in some way. 

For some students, maybe they don’t have a problem with family and they are enjoying the summer break. I would say just enjoy it. Don’t think too much about things like your academic work or your future career. You just never have that long time off of vacation every year. So I would like them to enjoy it. 

Some of the students I talk to ask about continuing care and some of them saying “I feel like I’m doing okay. Can I take a break?” I say take a break! Just enjoy your life! Go to a beach, go to a mountain, go anywhere you want to travel and do something new or experience something new. Maybe you can travel alone by yourself. Just go out with friends to somewhere you’ve never been before. In later stages of your life you just don’t have that privilege to do it. That’s actually a lot of what I talk with my students who weren’t thinking about summer care.

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