Table 3 Domain II: CHATogether’s benefits to participants

1. Individual benefits

Expression of creativity and talent

The power of the arts can really transcend a level of conversation where you can connect with others and really be able to convey a sense of unity, compassion, care, and empathy with others. I think it can do so in a way that other modes of communication cannot

Productivity and sense of purpose

Here we take the experiences that we have and channel them into a certain type of product. Because we do that, which requires a certain level of empathy, mentalization, of thinking around yourself—outside of your own box—for the purposes of helping others. That, combined with the fact that so much of the work we do and the way we do our work has changed with the pandemic, and that the topics we're discussing are related to the pandemic. It's been a really nice way for me to bring reason to what's going on

We are not only are united as a group, but also bring it forward to other people, to the community, in a way that we hope can be helpful

Connection

It's a sense of loss and confusion. You don't know what the next moment is going to be; society adding on more and more, but we have something important to hang on to: we have this group, the cohesiveness of being together

Mentorship

The different career paths of my senior colleagues affirm that no matter what I end up doing, it is always possible to make time and invest effort for issues we care about. As a young person beginning to venture into the real world, CHATogether is the perfect place for me to hone instrumental life skills like collaboration and speaking up, and it makes me excited for the kind of research and initiatives I hope to pursue

2. Collective benefits

Consistency

“The structure, and the consistency, and the meaning for us to work in CHATogether gives us a lot of hope against what the COVID-19 pandemic is putting upon us.”

Sense-making through storytelling

“I know so many other people's stories that have shared themes of some of the things that CHATogether hopes to address— or at least even begin to explore, to bring light to some discussions. These conversations allow for new narratives to be created. Healthy narratives that can show that it's possible when things within a family or within an individual feel impossible, when one feels there's no model or no way out. in these situations.”

AAPI support group

“I think that CHATogether has a very powerful potential to connect AAPI for those who are maybe at different levels of accepting or appreciating their [Asian] heritage. Share their experiences and understand that a lot of things that you feel like and are maybe you're going through on your own are actually quite common, and maybe that brings on a belief and connection to others.”

Provision of a safe space for stigmatized conversations

The skit allows a medium so that we don't need to talk directly at each other but instead we're talking within the skit or through other artistic outlets. It is a more tolerable, less taboo medium, in which we can discuss things in a culturally sensitive way. I hope that we can expand to many other minorities, not just AAPI. CHATogether has so much potential to bring people together, to let them feel comfortable to talk about mental health.”