Jiaying Lizzy Liu

Conceptually, this work extends beyond traditional motivation-based models by emphasizing the infrastructural and serendipitous nature of mental health access.

Our analysis identifies:
✔️ The infrastructural conditions that make transformative care encounters possible
✔️ The aspiration breakdowns that hinder care-seeking
✔️ Design opportunities to embed technology-mediated care encounters into socio-technical systems that support vulnerable populations

But we also uncovered powerful: “care encounters.”
💡 These are serendipitous interactions with mental health resources that happen when people are not actively seeking support.
💡 They often become critical turning points, sparking shifts in aspiration and enabling more proactive care-seeking.

Through in-depth #interviews assisted with visual elicitation with 18 diverse U.S. participants, our study shows how marginalized identities shape mental health care-seeking journeys—often marked by low #aspirations and #passive engagement shaped by experiences of marginalization.

#CSCW2025 preprint
How do people transition from non-help-seeking to #helpseeking for #mentalhealth care?
We found “care encounters”—unexpected interactions with mental health resources that spark turning points toward more proactive care. #identity #marginality
🔗https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.11277

Researching sociotechnical problems can sometimes feel solitary and overwhelming. Join our #CSCW2025 workshop & community on the deliberate use of HOPE as a design tool for reimagining positive technologies!

These days, I got lost without phone/internet, but managed to find new pathes and encountered more interactions with people. The patches of life are even more connected and magical than Tokyo’s trains. In Ghibli museum, 宫崎骏 Miyazaki said, "Be a Lost Child" so wander freely my friend. #academia

Navigating conferences #chi2025 can feel like getting lost in Tokyo subway maze. But I am learning to enjoy it rather than being afraid. Much of our anxiety comes from chasing the “right/fastest” path. But we don't have to follow others: take time to CREATE, EXPLORE, and MAKE our own map. #Wellbeing