Shirley Lo, a trilingual fifth-year doctoral student in the PsyD program in Seattle, under the mentorship of Jude Bergkamp, PsyD, has won a $5,000 American Psychological Association Dissertation Award. Her dissertation, The Psychological Process of Decolonizing the Colonized Self: A Grounded Theory Based on Hong Kongers’ Decisions After the 2019 Protest, explores how individuals engage in decolonizing processes in the wake of sociopolitical unrest.
Lo earned her first MS in Calgary, Canada, in 2013 and subsequently practiced independently for several years before returning to pursue her doctorate. Throughout her training and practice, she has developed a strong passion for integrating diverse lived experiences into scientific research to advance understanding of human suffering, well-being, and clinical practices. She primarily uses qualitative methods to invite participants to share their rich stories, adding depth and wisdom to the existing body of psychological knowledge. Her recent research, which closely follows the social constructivist paradigm, is deeply rooted in her own diverse cultural experiences and postmodern approach to therapy. She aspires to bring this paradigm to the study of neuropsychology—her nascent interest—as well as to her clinical work with the SMI population.
