Category Archives: Clinician Story

Sumin Kim, M.A. | Active Learning Coordinator

Sumin Kim, M.A.

Active Learning Coordinator

“I vision a place where children can grow happily and healthy in their own color”  

 
Ms. Kim identifies herself as a third culture individual brought up with an international background.  She was born in Korea, attended international schools in the Netherlands and Dubai, graduated high school in Germany and finally returned to Korea. Through this upbringing, Ms. Kim experienced various new environments and engaged with people from different cultural backgrounds allowing her to develop an international mindset that enables her to view situations from multiple unique perspectives. Most importantly, she developed a keen interest in the psychological, emotional and educational development of third culture kids with similar backgrounds.  

 
During her high school years at the International School of Dusseldorf, Ms. Kim was an assistant teacher for the after-school Korean class and the Dusseldorf Korean School where she observed and taught children with bicultural identities. Through the interaction, Ms. Kim realized that many children faced psychological difficulties related to adjustment issues. To help these students, she organized a mentoring program which combined EAL sessions with play therapy. After witnessing students gradually adjusting to their new environment with positive attitude and confidence, Ms. Kim’s yearned to further study child psychology.  
 
After completing the IB Diploma course including Psychology, she graduated with a double major in Psychology and Child Psychology & Education from Sungkyunkwan University and received her master’s degree in Child and Family Studies (Behavioral Therapy and Counseling Major) at Yonsei University. Ms. Kim wrote her master’s thesis on returnee third culture children through which she gained expertise in the psychological development of bicultural children.  

 
After graduating with a master’s degree, Ms. Kim worked as a clinical researcher at Seoul National University Hospital Child & Adolescent Psychiatry lab and the National Child Developmental Center where she performed diagnostic clinical assessment and behavioral counseling sessions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopment disorder such as attention deficit disorder, intellectual disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. 
 
As an active learning specialist, Ms. Kim hopes to make a fun and safe learning environment where children can freely explore with their own color.  

 

  • M.A. in Child and Family Studies (Behavioral Therapy and Counseling major) at Yonsei University 
  • B.A. Psychology and Child Psychology & Education at Sungkyunkwan University 

Story of Yekyong Kim

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Sumin Kim, M.A. | Active Learning Specialist, IPS Co-ordinator

Sumin Kim, M.A.

Active Learning Specialist | Psychological Services Coordinator

Ms. Kim is an Active Learning Coordinator at the Tree Group. She graduated with a double major in Psychology and Child Psychology & Education from Sungkyunkwan University and received her master’s degree in Child and Family Studies (Behavioral Therapy and Counseling Major) at Yonsei University. After graduating with a master’s degree, Ms. Kim worked as a clinical researcher at Seoul National University Hospital Child & Adolescent Psychiatry lab and the National Child Developmental Center where she performed diagnostic clinical assessment and behavioral counseling sessions for children and adolescents with neurodevelopment disorders such as attention deficit disorder, intellectual disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. Through her developmental background of residing in diverse countries from an early age, Ms. Kim’s research focuses on multicultural youths and their psychological adjustments that occur when shifting between cultures. Ms. Kim is now providing psycho-educational services for bilingual children and adolescents to enhance their psychological and emotional development.  

  

– Clinical Researcher at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) 

– SNUH Clinical Training for the Autism Diagnostic Obvservation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2) 

– SNUH Clinical Training for the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R)  

– SNUH Clinical Training for Behavioral Development Screening (BeDevel)  

– University of Manchester Clinical Training for the Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) 

– University of Washington Clinical Workshop of Autism Diagnostic Observation Scehdule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2)  

– M.A. in Child and Family Studies (Behavioral Therapy and Counseling major) at Yonsei University 

– B.A. Psychology and Child Psychology & Education at Sungkyunkwan University 

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Center for International Psychological ServicesㅣPhilosophy

The path of Dr. Cho and his treatment team is the walk of people who are suffering.
Center for International Psychological Services is following the footstep of early pioneers of clinical psychology.
Dr. Cho and his treatment team has been serving English ex-patriate community in Seoul since 2003.
Yong Cho, Ph.D.ㅣChief Psychologist, the Tree Group​

Dr. Yong Cho is a founder of the Tree Group and its four branch centers.
He is a New York State licensed psychologist and
has been serving English ex-patriate community in Seoul since 2003.

As a scholar and practitioner, he studies the suffering of human mind,
self-destructive behaviors and religious aspects of psychology.

He has been serving culturally and religiously diverse population for the past decades.
His efforts to serve the under-served population was recognized by New York Times and other medias.

He and his treatment team value the importance of providing the evidence-based psychotherapy for people who are suffering.

Yong Cho, Ph.D.ㅣChief Psychologist, the Tree Group​

School of LifeㅣActive Learning CenterㅣPhilosophy

In 2003, Dr. Cho did not turn away from the children who lost all their hopes because they could not acquire the English language at their English-speaking schools.
Instead, Dr. Cho started providing bilingual comprehensive psycho-educational assessments and treatments.

A seed,

waiting for the spring

embracing Colors of Lights

flowers aglow,

into a tree

it blossomed

season of LIFE
season of Truth
season of Liberation


We hear the sound of children

with unsung exuberance

and hidden happiness

 

Yong Cho, Ph.D.ㅣChief Psychologist, the Tree Group

DBT Center of KoreaㅣPhilosophy

Dr. Yong Cho started DBT individual and skills training group since 2001 at the Zucker-Hillside Hospital, New York.

We all are suffering from our innate limitation as human beings. The only people who are able to confront this inescapable fact and lessen our pain and suffering is ourselves.

Only we could balance our minds. DBT is the truthful psychotherapy that helps us balance our minds even within the storm of pain and suffering. DBT Center of Korea of Dr. Cho was established with this philosophy.

DBT is the truthful psychotherapy that helps us balance our minds even within the storm of pain and suffering.

Yong Cho, Ph.D.ㅣChief Psychologist, the Tree Group ​/ DBT Center of Korea

Special Lecture on “Bilingual Children” by Dr. Cho

"What can be called bilingual does not depend on whether you can speak both languages perfectly, but on whether you can communicate with others in both languages in daily life."
By 전승혜 Seonghae Jeon, M.P.A.

On the last Friday evening of February at the “Active Learning Center,” Dr. Cho Yong-beom, the head of Dutree Group, gave a special lecture on “Brilliant Children.” It’s time to explore in depth what challenges bilingual children can face learning, psychological, emotional and social, how to overcome, and what benefits they can have in the process of growing up.

 

Bilingual children are known to have the following advantages:

 
– Less prescriptive / more creative / more flexible and open to new ideas
– “Distributive thinking” in problem-solving – having the ability to find various, possible, and non-pessimistic solutions to a problem
– Two or more expressive(language) systems foster flexibility and creativity of thinking
– Looking at language as a single object (“meta-language recognition”), able to understand the arbitrary nature of words
– Have a rich sense of communication
– “Additional Antenna” – respond more sensitively to surroundings, pay more careful attention to conversations, and capture both verbal and non-verbal queues more delicately

 

What can be called bilingual does not depend on whether you can speak both languages perfectly, but on whether you can communicate with others in both languages in daily life. Thus, it is natural that bilingual abilities develop disproportionately according to the individual’s environment. A bilingual child can become either “Bilingual Additif” (when the child develops two languages equally and this experience of language development helps with subsequent cognitive development) or “Bilingual Sustractif” (when the child develops a second language at the expense of his or her native language).

 

It is often assumed that bilingual children are at a disadvantage, experiencing mental confusion when two languages are mixed up in their minds. However, according to academic research on brain observation, young children have overlapping regions of the brain that govern both languages, treating them as if they are a single language. All of our “Active Learning Center” clinicians use this academic and empirical knowledge to provide professional service to all of our children.

2018 “DBT Skills Training Manual, 2nd Edition” was published.

“By using DBT Manuals that has a scientific dedication of
Dr. Marsha Linehan’s dialectical minds and Buddhist fulfillment,
We wish to save many individuals who are suffering with emotion regulation in the world.”

In 2018, “DBT Skills Training Manual, 2nd Edition” was published, producing two of Dr. Marsha Linehan’s manuals. 

 

Dr. Marsha Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual 2nd Edition was planned to be published since 2000. After the first edition was published in 1993, having a 2nd edition was the outcome of dedicated clinical efforts. It is our honor to publish Dr. Marsha Linehan’s DBT manuals that contain her life work of clinical research and insights. 

 

Dr. Yong Cho knew Dr. Linehan and her team’s dedication and efforts to the manuals, which allowed him to translate each worksheet and clinical terminologies, to apply them to clients in clinical settings and to observe their therapeutic progress. We wish to save many individuals who are suffering with emotion regulation in the world.

ONLINE BOOKSTORE

2017 “Today’s Mindfulness Cards” was created.

“50 Mindfulness skills to collect our minds
Today’s Mindfulness
Start our day with Mindfulness cards”

<Today’s Mindfulness> Anyone, anytime, anywhere

 

<Today’s Mindfulness> was created for anyone to enjoy mindfulness in daily life. It aims to free ourselves from worries and endless thoughts by focusing on the simple cards to be mindful with anyone, at anytime and anywhere, unlike difficult religious books or lectures. 

 

We often see that Western individuals who are more familiar with scientific approach to mindfulness get deeper enlightenment. Enlightenment comes from a moment, not always from a zen meditation.

 

Korean people who have experienced meditation or Buddhism or Christians who have unresolved difficulties in their minds will experience mindfulness and peacefulness with the use of “Today’s Mindfulness” cards.  

ONLINE BOOKSTORE

2017 “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Workbook 2nd Edition” was published

“Since 2013, translators and the members of the Tree Group Press put in all their heart and soul
to translate the book and published it after five years of time.”

In 2017, “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Workbook 2nd Edition” was published. Since 2013, the translator and the members of the Tree Group Press worked their best to publish and to produce a successful outcome. 

 

The team could achieve the outcome with the hope that the book could provide a new hope to Koreans with emotional difficulties and suffering. We express our gratitude to the author, Dr. Marsha Linehan for giving us this opportunity. 

ONLINE BOOKSTORE

2017 “DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents” was published

“A manual for emotional dysregulation and borderline personality disorder
“DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents” was published.”

In 2017, “DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents” was published. Dr. Jill Rathus is a renowned professional who published countless research papers regarding DBT, CBT, adolescents suicide, marriage difficulties, violence in couples, anxiety and psychological evaluations. Dr. Allec Miller is a DBT expert who trains thousands of trainee clinical psychologists and he researched DBT, adolescents, child abuse and borderline personality disorder. 

 

Although DBT was being applied to adolescents due to a growing interest in adolescents’ behavioral problems, Dr. Jill Rathus and Dr. Allec Miller were disheartened that the treatment did not consider the psychological factors specific to adolescents. This became their motivation to develop and to publish “DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents”, which recognizes adolescents’ emotional and cognitive development and its difference to adults.

 

DBT for adolescents has brought therapeutic effects to adolescents with emotional dysregulation, borderline personality disorder and behavioral problems, but also to typical adolescents. The effectiveness of the treatment was proved by various research papers and clinical institutions from all around the world, which suggests that the strategies and skills in this book would be a useful tool for DBT Skills Trainer who has adolescent clients. 

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