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I am a tenured Provost Professor in the Counseling and Counseling Psychology Programs at Indiana University. My research interests are in (a) positive psychology (especially the psychology of gratitude and the psychology of encouragement), (b) Asian American mental health (especially suicide-related outcomes), and (c) the psychology of men and masculinities. I also have secondary interests in liberatory care and social justice, including , mattering, the ,  and the model minority myth.

I maintain a where I share insights on the science and practice of gratitude, along with a .

I am a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 17, 45, and 51) and of the Asian American Psychological Association.

I am the Editor of the APA journal, . I coedited two books on the psychology of men and masculinities: the  (Wong & Wester, 2016) and the  (Levant & Wong, 2017).

Regarding my clinical interests, I have a long-standing interest in applying to psychotherapy. I created an 8-week psychoeducational group program to cultivate gratitude and demonstrated the use of gratitude interventions in psychotherapy an . With , I also developed an 8-session Gratitude Narrative Intervention that can be integrated into individual psychotherapy.

I am open to admitting a doctoral student in 2027. If you are interested in applying to the Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology and would like me to be your advisor, I hope the following information will be helpful to you:

1. Although my research spans several areas, I would be most interested in admitting students who are interested in studying gratitude interventions and practices, as these will be the primary (though not exclusive) focus of my research over the next few years. More information about my research lab and current research on gratitude 
2. Students who are interested in working with me are welcome to contact me via email. Please feel free to introduce yourself and ask me questions.
3. I value multiculturalism, care ethics, and social justice. I believe that caring relationships are a foundational feature of what it means to live a good life. 
4. Mentoring doctoral students is one of my favorite activities!
5. I am more likely to be a good fit with you if you have a strong and genuine interest in research.  
6. Although I value the contributions of qualitative research, my research is primarily quantitative in nature.
7. If you’re interested in working with me, please state so explicitly in your personal statement. Also, I encourage you to propose a few research questions that you would be interested in exploring as a doctoral student.
8. My purpose in life is to promote mattering through words of affirmation, which includes enabling people to feel valued and to add value (). I will readily admit that I'm not always successful, but I aspire to live out this mission through my research, teaching, mentoring, and service activities.