by Vivian Nguyen
Northwest Asia Weekly
ICHS behavioral health specialists help patients of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations. (Photo from ICHS)
May recognizes and celebrates two important observances – Mental Health Awareness Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
For International Community Health Services (ICHS), a primarily Seattle-based nonprofit health clinic, this month is a fusion of their original mission. ICHS was founded in the early 1970s with an initial focus on providing health care to low-income Asian immigrants in Seattle’s Chinatown neighborhood. Now, the organization serves a variety of patients in the region and offers a variety of services, including primary care, dental care, behavioral care, and more.
Jia Yin Lee is a behavioral health specialist at ICHS. As part of an integrated care team model, she provides mental health support to patients and behavioral interventions for patients with anxiety, depression, and substance use problems.
“Mental health shouldn’t be a privilege, it’s anyone’s right, regardless of race, age, or any other circumstance,” Lee said.
Stigma against mental health treatment
Asian Americans face a unique challenge when it comes to addressing their mental health issues.
Long plagued by the “model minority myth” — a stereotype that assumes all Asians achieve a higher level of success than the general population — Asian Americans often struggle with an invisible pressure to live up to that image. However, this pressure to excel and transcend makes individuals realize that there is limited room for any mental health issues that arise in the pursuit of excellence.
Cultural attitudes can also hinder access to mental health.
“Asian values emphasize a community mentality where people share their successes and challenges collectively,” Lee said. When mental health issues arise, people shy away from sharing those weaknesses because it could be seen as a weakness, or a crack in the community.
Intergenerational trauma — the concept of one generation experiencing trauma and passing it on to the next — can also lead to stigma around receiving mental health treatment. Habits learned from older generations, such as a reluctance to resolve or seek help for mental problems, can also contribute to this stigma.
Lee gives an example of emotional expression as a learned habit. If a person’s parents can’t teach their children healthy emotional expression, Lee said, it’s likely because they’ve never acquired the skill themselves. As a result, children inherit the same learned habits and pass them on to their own children, exacerbating intergenerational trauma and stigma.
The rise of mental health struggles
In recent years, there has been an increasing trend in demand for mental health services across all age groups, Li said.
Each age group encounters specific struggles unique to its age range and environment. But regardless of the situation, anxiety, depression and loneliness were common symptoms across all subgroups.
While the mental health crisis is surging for all, the number of Asian American women has increased significantly. According to a January 2022 study by the American Psychological Association, Asian-American women have the highest suicide rate of all women over the age of 65.
“This age group is unique,” Lee said. “Many migrants have suffered collective trauma during the migration process – adding to their sense of isolation and loneliness, that neither their home country nor their adopted country truly feels like home.”
“The quality of care for immigrants in that age group is also not ideal. Some may have difficulty accessing social benefits due to lack of status or income in the early stages of immigration.”
Separation from family members, especially children, can also be devastating for mothers due to the value of the collective family unit in Asian cultures.
“When parents are separated from their children, it’s hard for them to find meaning in life,” Li said.
Also, because Asian women have higher life expectancies than men, many women often have to carry the emotional burden of family estrangement without a spouse. In the absence of any family ties, mothers in this situation often fail to find meaning in life.
While family relationships may determine how Asian women deal with their mental health, men face a different set of challenges. Gender roles and expectations can cause men to suppress their feelings, especially if they are the breadwinners of their families. The burden of raising a family leaves no room for vulnerability, Lee said.
“It’s a common trend to have men brought into clinics by their wives and families,” Li said. “It’s not impossible, but it will take more time [for men] overcome [generational stigma] compared to Asian American women. “
How to address and manage stigma
When a patient arrives for an appointment, the ICHS primary care provider will inform the patient that they have a behavioral health provider on their care team and how their behavioral health affects their physical health. (Photo by ICHS)
While overcoming learned habits can be challenging, environmental influences can help eliminate existing stigma.
Lee recommends that people look into integrated care—a service model that ICHS specializes in. With integrated care, patients can go to a clinic to address a problem while receiving other aspects of health care, such as physical, psychological, dietary care, and more.
Because the integrated care team provides comprehensive care, it can be especially helpful for older Asian Americans, who are more likely to identify physical problems and symptoms than emotional ones, Lee said. Then, when they come to check on physical problems, psychological problems can also be addressed – even in their native language.
“As a member of an integrative care team, having behavioral knowledge is as helpful as having medical knowledge, and then communicating with healthcare providers to help them understand the physical and mental health relationship,” said Lee.
Communities can also play a fundamental role in providing mental health care.
“If seeking professional help is not in favor of the family or culture, a support group would be a good option,” Lee said.
“Nowadays, thanks to technology and social media, it’s easier to find people who share your values and issues. The benefit of being part of a support group and community is that it removes loneliness, but it also provides a way to learn more about Mental health opportunities. It can even be an entry point for professional psychological help with a problem.”
In addition to ICHS’ services, Lee recommends other local non-profit organizations, such as the Chinese Information and Service Center, ICHS Legacy House, or Asian Counseling and Referral Services, that offer community or social events that cater to Asian adults.
“You don’t have to take advantage of their individual therapy sessions,” Lee said. “You can still join their group activities to find and connect with other people.”
For more information, please visit ichs.org.
Vivian Nguyen can be contacted at info@nwasianweekly.com.
