Finding a Culturally-Relevant Therapist

Long before I became a psychologist, the idea of Mental health as an Asian American was fraught with complexity. For many cultures, the very idea of admitting that we have mental struggles goes against every fiber of our being. The stigma of having a “mental illness” is something that is pathologized and shunned. Many suffer […]

Are Therapists Behind the Rise in Family Estrangements?

Source: SHVETS / Pexels As family estrangement gets more media attention, some have suggested that therapists are causing—or at least encouraging—many of these family cutoffs. This criticism has been made of adult children’s therapists by the media (see Barry, 2024), estranged parents, and their therapists and advocates. Yet while it’s true that some adults decide […]

How Undocumented Therapists Are Serving Other Immigrants

When Mayra Barragan-O’Brien was 14 years old, she and her mother were smuggled across the U.S.-Mexican border in a truck. What she remembers most about the 1,300-mile journey from Guadalajara was the sweltering heat. It was so hot that the bottom of her mother’s black tennis shoe melted from hiding underneath the backseat, and she […]