Last week, an article by Kimmy Yam was published that expands on reality that “treatment that’s done through a Western framework, like traditional talk therapy, isn’t always inclusive of and as effective for everyone, often failing to honor Asian family dynamics, cultural values and racial sensitivities.” I thought this article was excellent.
I’ve experienced this reality myself in sessions with my own therapist as well as in the counseling psychology program I’m in. It’s an incredible program, I deeply respect and enjoy my professors and classmates, and I am learning so much. At the same time, I am also quickly realizing that if I want to primarily work with Asian Americans and other racialized minorities in the future, it’s as if I have to do double the work: the first part (alongside all of my peers) in understanding the theories and principles that have dominated the timeline of the field of psychotherapy, and the second part (with a much smaller group of individuals) parsing through the ways Eurocentric cultures and values show up in those theories as well as the decades of studies that centered white bodies…and then to strip, apply, and contextualize them to what works for our communities.
I highly encourage my BIPOC brothers and sisters to read the article, especially my Asian American siblings. I also want to share a little bit more of my own experience as well as resources that have been helpful during my studies so far.
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