Protecting Inner Peace: The Insight of Esther Jhun
Esther Jhun serves as Director of Counseling Services at The King’s College. | Photo courtesy of The King’s College.
A yellow lamp casts a warm glow in the still air of Esther Jhun’s office. Comfy chairs that you can sink into are the focal point of the room, secluded from Jhun’s desk. It was in this room that Jhun explained her journey in becoming Director of Counseling Services at The King’s College.
Despite her inclination for seminary and theological studies, Jhun eventually found herself pursuing a profession in counseling after first experiencing therapy for herself and realizing the influence it can have on a person.
“It is a gift to be able to find a safe space where you can come as you are and find healing,” Jhun said. “Between therapy, really good, supportive friends, and truly the mercy of God, I was able to think about what I could do.”
Jhun’s motivation for her work emanates from her passion for the mental flourishing of students.
“One of the reasons I love what I do with students is because I remember being there,” Jhun said. “The expectations that they put on themselves is just so high, so unrealistic, almost to the point where it’s dehumanizing, and, for whatever reason, I remember that really clearly. If I knew there was a place that I could go where I didn’t have to have my act together, I didn’t have to have it all figured out, and I didn’t have to do whatever this thing was alone, I think that would have done a world of wonder for me.”
Over the past two years of the pandemic, Jhun observed dramatic effects on students' mental health. She recalled that the effects varied significantly based on each student’s situation. While some got to return to a peaceful, supportive home at the beginning of the pandemic, other students returned to places of dysfunction, where the original cause of their mental distress began. Jhun turned her services virtual at the beginning of the pandemic.
“The isolation was hard, it exacerbated mental illness,” she said. “Stuff like abuse and addiction usually thrive in isolation. I’ve noticed in the past two years how depression and anxiety creeps up, what’s healthy, and what has an addictive feel to it.”
As Director of Counseling Services during COVID-19, Jhun has experienced difficulties in her personal life.
“The truth is sometimes it is hard. I can feel like I don’t know if I’m reaching this person. That has been the hardest part. The truth is, of course, I want to help every student, and I know I don’t get it all the time, and then I do get frustrated with myself. Part of that is reminding myself that I’m limited.” Jhun said. “The students keep me honest, I can’t tell folks to set boundaries if I don’t set boundaries. Part of what boundaries do is they remind us of our limitations. The truth is my limitation is that I am just one human being, and I am limited in how I can help anybody. It’s not that I don’t want to, but it’s that I can’t. I am not an all-powerful being.”
Jhun’s passion for her work ultimately comes back to students.
“They have the courage to ask for help, which is sometimes the hardest thing to do. The fact that they can even be vulnerable with a stranger. To see that they have what it takes, that they can take risks, and they do it on behalf of themselves, I think that’s quite remarkable, really” Jhun said. “They’re stronger than they think; they’re braver than they think.”
Jhun is most rewarded in her job when students begin showing signs that they are doing better.
“When they seem freer, that’s usually a sign to me that they are doing better. When they feel like they are free to be who they are, or they can give themselves permission to have a voice, to have more agency in their life, or to take up space. That’s really rewarding,” said Jhun. She believes that cultivating a fuller life involves tending to one’s mental health similarly to one’s physical health. “If you knew someone had cancer in your church, you’re going to pray for them, you’re going to pray for an intervention, you’re going to pray that God heals them, but you’re also going to recommend that they see a good doctor and start treatment. There’s room for that when someone’s suffering from a mental illness.”
She strives to educate the people around her in reference to their mental health.
“Mental health has to do with your cognitions, the thoughts you have, the relationship between the thoughts you have and what you’re feeling, and then how that manifests in behavior as well as attitudes toward yourself and others,” Jhun said. “Mental health is a thing whether people acknowledge it or not, it exists.”
Jhun’s work and mission are assembled and directed by her desire for the mental flourishing of students.
“I would encourage students to see that they are not just a disembodied soul. I know you’re in college, but you’re not just a brain. It is not a bad thing to be a good steward of your mental health. You get to have the opportunity to tend to your mental health. Practice self-compassion. Give yourself permission to take care of yourself,” said Jhun. “I would remind people that they are stronger than they think, that they are braver than they think. Part of that comes with being afraid; it’s okay to be afraid. They don’t have to go through it alone.”