Hometown: Fuzhou, China
Faculty mentor: Martin Kivlighan, PhD, professor of counseling psychology, Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, College of Education
Degree program and anticipated graduation date: PhD in counseling psychology, 2026

Kun Wang’s broad research goal is to advance the understanding of what makes psychotherapy effective. He focuses on cultural factors that can either hinder or enhance the psychotherapy experience for clients from a wide range of backgrounds. Wang has studied clients’ goal orientation and their expectation of therapist support in relation to their treatment outcomes. Recently, he began applying machine learning to scale up the benefits of psychotherapy by using automated systems that respond to user feedback to enhance psychotherapy processes. Wang’s work aims to make mental health care beneficial and accessible to a wider range of people, including those who face barriers to receiving care.

Wang’s goal is to become a faculty member at a research-intensive institution and continue conducting research while mentoring future scholars and mental health care providers.

Banner location: Downtown—