Asian Mental Health Support
Can you relate to this?
You have gathered the strength to seek out mental health support, but you want to find a therapist who can relate to your Asian identity. You want to work with someone who understands the cultural nuances that come with being Asian (responsibility to your family, respect for authority, academic and work pressure… the list can go on and on!) so you don’t have to explain it all to someone who just doesn’t get it.
You are in the right place. I integrate a culturally-responsive lens in therapy to provide you with tailored support.
You Are Not Alone
Here are some common Asian mental health challenges you might work through in therapy:
Understanding Cultural Identity
As an Asian person living in American, it can be challenging to understand how your Asian and American parts of you fit into your sense of self. You may feel a pressure to fit in from both cultures, but also feel a sense of rejection and isolation from not perfectly fitting into either. Therapy can help you explore these aspects of your identity, and understand how they fit into the bigger picture of your mental health and wellbeing.
Navigating Family Conflicts
Asian family dynamics require more nuance than Western therapy models tend to offer. What a non-Asian therapist might label as “enmeshment” or “codependence” might actually be deeply rooted cultural values of respect, responsibility, and duty. By understanding your own values and boundaries, you can nurture your relationships while learning ways to more effectively communicate and protect your own needs.
Integrating Generational Trauma
The hardships and traumatic experiences that previous generations in your family have experienced can be passed down directly and indirectly to you. By learning more about these generational traumas and how they show up in your life, you can gain a more compassionate understanding of your family and of yourself. This will create the path forward in your own healing.
Rebuilding Body Image
The Asian cultural narrative around appearance and the “ideal” body type can have a damaging impact for many people. If you struggle with your body image or disordered eating, therapy can be a helpful space to understand cultural reinforcers at play, and support you in developing a healthier relationship with your body and with food.
Managing Perfectionism & Stress
You may be struggling with perfectionism or a high pressure to achieve and succeed. Many Asian families place a heavy emphasis on academic or work “success”, and you can carry and internalize these pressures with you as you go through life. In therapy you will learn to find balance between living up to the narrative of hard work and redefining your own vision of success.
Strengthening Self-Esteem
Many Asian households equate worth with success - for example, getting good grades, having a high income, or working a prestigious job. When your self-worth becomes tied to so-called measurable outcomes, you may struggle with feeling “worthy”, have a strong inner critic, and battle with Imposter’s Syndrome. Therapy will help you deconstruct these narratives and help you re-center your self-esteem based on qualities you truly value.
Reconnecting with Emotions
For many, feelings were not often talked about growing up in an Asian household. Learning to identify, label, and respond to emotions is a skill that we learn through experience. By reconnecting with your body and your emotions, you can better understand your own patterns and tendencies, relate to others more empathically, and live more deeply in each moment.
Responding to Shame
In Asian cultures, a person’s sense of self relies heavily on how others perceive them. Shame plays a big role in this process. You may be more sensitive to shame because of your cultural influences, and struggle with handling shame when it comes up for you. In therapy, you can learn ways to recognize, accept, and act opposite to your shame.
My Lived Experience
As a second generation Asian American, I have personally experienced how therapy is often rooted in Western cultural beliefs, and the barriers to care that come with that for Asian & AANHPI clients. I am intentional in my own learning and advocacy work to support clients from the Asian community, especially around cultural nuances that may be overlooked in the Western lens of mental health (i.e. family relationships, acculturation challenges, identity development, and so much more)!
I am passionate about creating a space for other Asian people to find mental health healing and support. As a result, outside of the therapy room I direct a non-profit dedicated to Asian mental health advocacy (learn more about FAUNA Mental Health Foundation here).
I also recognize that while some of my experiences as an Asian person might overlap with yours, my experiences are not exhaustive of the East Asian, Asian, or Asian American experience. I invite you to bring your own expertise and lived experiences to our sessions, and I make a commitment to you that I will continue to examine my own biases and background so that I can show up better for you in our sessions.
Ready to Get Started?
Complete an interest form to schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation!
I respond to all inquiries, regardless if I have an opening or not, within 1-3 business days. If I haven't responded to you within 3 business days, please feel free to reach out to me again as I may have missed your message!