Lab Director

 My primary focus of my research examines cultural, psychological and social aspects of chronic pain and opioid use. As a scientist-practitioner, I developed a research interest in pain during my advanced health psychology clinical training (pain management & consultation-liaison psychiatry) where I witnessed how chronic pain patients are marginalized, ignored, and blamed for their pain conditions. Many pain patients are marginalized by health care professionals, as well as their own social circles. My view on pain is grounded in two key values: 1) it is strength-based. I examine the influence of chronic pain on both absence of illness and the presence of human thriving (Kim et al., 2019); and 2) it is context-driven. Using social cognitive theory as a conceptual underpinning contributes to the current biopsychosocial understanding of chronic pain, which often fails to consider the importance of contextual factors such as cultural orientation, language barriers and work-family management. To date, my research has demonstrated chronic pain’s influence on eudaimonic and subjective wellbeing (Kim, et al., 2020), the roles of various types of social support (e.g., family, friends, coworkers, and supervisor) on chronic pain comorbidities (Kim, Lee, & Boone, 2022) and work-family enrichment as a protective factor in pain outcome (Kim et al., under review). I have also examined the relations among pain specific social supports on pain experience and opioid use in the context of cultural orientation of individualism and collectivism (Kim, et al., 2022). My research embraces an ecological systems perspective, where family--as a key microsystem--is considered a critical factor in exacerbating (Boone & Kim, 2019) or buffering (Nguyen, Kim et al., 2020) the stress associated with having chronic pain.

Using my recent NSF grant, my research team interviewed more than one hundred health care providers and chronic pain patients in order to examine the cultural and socio-cognitive factors influencing how members of ethnic and linguistic minority groups experiencing chronic pain communicate with their healthcare providers (as well as the experience of healthcare providers working with these populations). I am using the results from these interviews to develop a digital health technology for chronic pain patients with ethnic and linguistic minority backgrounds; the purpose of which is to substantially improve pain communication with their healthcare providers by incorporating cultural and linguistic norms and patterns that affect the pain experience. The ultimate goal of my research is to better analyze and form policies that will improve not only our understanding, but also improve equity in the delivery of pain health care. 

My clinical work has focused on serving underserved and underrepresented individuals with histories of severe mental health issues as well as chronic pain conditions through a psychodynamic orientation. My doctoral clinical training was completed at academic medical centers, public and community hospitals in three different cities in Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Madison and Racine. My master’s clinical training was at an urban high school in Boston.  Additional work fundamental to my identity as a clinician is the four years of psychoanalytic training at the Wisconsin and Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute during my doctoral training. I am excited to bring the depth and breadth of my clinical experience to the next generations of psychologists.

Beyond my work as an instructor, mentoring students has become extremely important to me. I run an active research team consisting of several doctoral and undergraduate students, who have broad aspirations, including becoming psychologists, pathologists, oncologists, psychiatrists, pharmacists, dentists and health care researchers. I am proud to say that this is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my job. I feel strongly about the importance of collaborating with students as well as scholars in diverse disciplines. I involve graduate students in research early in their training using both the “apprentice model” and “junior colleague model” based on their developmental level. I have received excellent mentorship, understand its importance, and I am committed to “paying it forward.”

Outside of Academia, I love being in nature, from small adventures exploring local parks to longer voyages to state and national parks. Recently, I have gotten back into playing piano and enjoy listening to the works of Chopin and Rachmaninoff, whose work impresses me every time I hear it. The intersection of quantum physics, psychotherapy and Buddhism is also an subject of my musings, and I hope to write a piece on this subject when I get closer to retirement. I practice Seon Meditation and love reading and discussing anything about it.