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Rates of depression and anxiety among Asian Americans increased during the Covid-19 pandemic—a time that coincided with rising reports of anti-Asian hate crimes.
That toll highlighted the need for mental health services, which are not just hard to come by but also underutilized, due to taboos around seeking treatment and a lack of culturally competent care, Joo Han, deputy director of the Asian American Federation (AAF), said in a May 25 webinar on Asian American mental health.
Less than a third of Asian American New Yorkers with depression receive mental health treatment, compared to more than half of their white peers, a 2021 study from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found.
“Mental health needs have risen exponentially in the past few years, and compounded by a fear of Covid infection, loss of loved ones, social isolation, and anxiety arising from hate crimes and xenophobic attacks against Asians across the country,” Sophia Silao, program officer at the New York Health Foundation, said during the webinar. “The need for culturally and linguistically appropriate care is great.”
Stigma surrounding mental health is the “number one deterrent” keeping more Asian Americans from seeking care, Han said. Many Asian Americans feel that they have to be self-sufficient and are not used to asking for help, Han noted.
The model minority myth that assumes all Asian Americans are successful, high earning, and well educated only adds to that stigma: It puts pressure on Asian Americans to meet those standards, sometimes at the cost of their mental well-being, nonprofit research organization the Urban Institute found.
“Many folks in the Asian community don’t see mental health as a legitimate health concern, so that deters them from seeking help as they might for a physical ailment, where they would go to a doctor for help,” Han said.
New York City, like most of the country, faces a shortage of behavioral health staff, which limits mental health care options. However, many of the mainstream mental health services available, such as mental health hotlines or traditional therapy, do not take into account the cultural needs and norms of the Asian American community, Han said.
Instead, for example, AAF will organize events such as tea time origami folding for Asian seniors, while staff facilitate conversations with the attendees about how they’re feeling or what’s causing them stress, Han said. The goal is to help destigmatize seeking mental health support, Han added.
“Groups [using] these nonclinical ways will then identify clients who actually may need clinical help and then have partners that they can refer their community members to, so that there’s wraparound support,” Han said.