As Asian American values continue to evolve, balance between tradition and culture is a continuing process.

Generational and acculturational differences often shape responses to experiences such as racism.

While emotional expression can be discouraged, in some Southasian families open arguments are common.

Collectivist norms can sometimes act as gatekeepers, leading to the rejection of queerness or neurodivergence.

While the Asian community is incredibly diverse in its histories, languages, cultures, and traditions, many shared experiences create a sense of mutual understanding. Many Asian Americans navigate the tension between belonging in mainstream society and honoring family and cultural values. As these values continue to evolve, balancing traditional and non-traditional expectations remains an ongoing challenge—one that often plays out within our nervous systems. Recognizing commonalities across our communities can be validating and even intergenerationally corrective, helping us examine the biases we pass on to future generations. Asian providers have an opportunity to broaden our knowledge, so that we become more culturally attuned to our clients, and help shape healthier conversations for generations to come.

Cultural Considerations

Jack Lam, LCSW, and founder of the Yellow Chair Collective, alongside Barbara Huong, AMFT, a therapist with the same organization, shared a few thoughts with me recently. Lam pointed out that learning the broader context and history of East Asian Americans can be beneficial for understanding clients with regard to how they think, feel, and respond to the world around them, specifically given the cultural context. Huong discussed how family is a huge part of the equation. Asian clients tend to care deeply about their family’s well-being, to the neglect of their own needs. This is a familiar theme in South Asian (SA) culture, where family can often take center stage, impacting........

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