May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month
Only 4% of mental health professionals are Asian American or Pacific Islander.
This means there are disproportionately fewer opportunities for AAPI individuals to be in healing spaces with providers who have firsthand knowledge of the AAPI experience.
In contrast, the CDC released reports that suicide is the leading cause of death for Asian Americans between 15-29. The LEADING CAUSE of death. An appalling and disheartening statistic.
As a Filipina American, I know how difficult it can be to overcome the stigma against mental health treatment that exists within many AAPI households. And since I lost brother to suicide when I was 27 and he was 25, I know the pain of losing someone to suicide all too well.
I often ask myself what could have made a difference back then that could mean he might still be alive today, and here are my thoughts:
Access. We need to actively increase pathways and decrease obstacles to supporting AAPI individuals who want to pursue an education in mental health, including targeted recruitment as well as financial support in the forms of grants and loan repayment support.
Support. We need to increase support for programs that assist the AAPI community and are doing the good work of reducing mental health stigma and increasing mental health access.
Education. We need to increase the available education on AAPI issues not just for mental health practitioners but for all levels of education for AAPI individuals and non-AAPI individuals alike. Everyone should be educated on the warnings signs for mental health crisis and suicide so that they can feel empowered to help when someone is suffering. Mental health education should be as core to education as math or science.
What else would you include?
As an aside, I recently saw the movie “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once” recently and I absolutely loved it! It was a wild rollercoaster ride of emotions, silliness, depth, and visual delights. It was also a beautiful story about family, regrets, our chosen paths in life, and the sometimes very complex dynamics of growing up in an immigrant household. If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!
BTW, my mission is help people love their lives so they never want to leave them.
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