We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Suyeu Kuo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Suyeu, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Never put more into a job than the company puts into you. Depending on where you are in your life path, you might not always get a choice in terms of what types of jobs you can get hired for, but the amount of personal resources (e.g. time, physical labor, mental energy) you put in should be equivalent to what the company can do for you. Right out of college, I wasn’t entirely sure what my next step was going to be, so I ended up at an entry-level direct marketing job that was definitely unfamiliar with labor laws and standard human resources policies that make for a safe work environment. This job paid minimum wage and had me working 12-hour days for 10 days straight at a time. It took up so much of my time and energy that it was difficult to spend time with loved ones and be able to take care of day-to-day tasks. When the company didn’t backpay the overtime once they realized their mistake and promotions didn’t occur due to organizational limitations, I recognized that this wasn’t a company or job I wanted to spend my time on. I believe in working hard and persevering, but you need to make sure that there is room for career growth and your personal life along the way, or else what is the point?

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello to anyone who hasn’t read about me before! I am a clinical psychologist and executive clinical director for a treatment center in La Jolla Cove serving the greater San Diego area and California as a whole. When I was in high school, I took an AP Psychology class and immediately loved learning about how people work in terms of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I majored in psychology at UCSD, then after doing some soul searching at the job I previously mentioned, I enrolled and received my doctorate in clinical psychology. While I cannot go into detail about the problems I solve for patients, I will say that my tailored, integrative, strengths-based, patient-centered approach is what sets me apart as a mental health provider. I am most proud of how much Protected Roots Integrative (PRI) Treatment Center has accomplished this past year in getting in network with most insurances, because this allows me to help more people in our community to be the best versions of themselves that they want to be.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn over the course of my life was the idea that I needed to do everything on my own. My parents raised me to be independent and self-reliant, which is extremely useful as an adult, but not so useful for the many things in life that require working with others. Over the course of growing PRI from its opening, I have found that the complementary nature of the various strengths on the PRI team has been one of the primary reasons why we have been able to continue supporting the greater San Diego community in our second year. Learning to play to the strengths of the different members of our team has allowed us to grow faster and more consistently than I could have imagined.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Empathy. The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand their experiences is crucial as a psychologist. In order to help my patients, I need to be able to sense how they are feeling and help guide them in deciding for themselves what the next step in their lives should be. Empathy is the primary way I can successfully connect with patients, and it’s an important aspect of building a supportive space for our patients, their families, and the overall community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pritreatmentcenter.com/
• Instagram: @protectedrootsintegrative
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/PRI/100092351931156/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/protected-roots-integrative-pri-treatment-center
• Twitter: https://x.com/pritreatment
• Other: https://ksypsychology.clientsecure.me/

Image Credits

Desi Dumalo
Suyeu Kuo