Apr 15, 2019
An interview Yin Li, LMFT about Asian American and Pacific Islanders in therapy and as therapists. Curt and Katie talk with Yin about how often AAPI individuals are not included in the conversation about racism, culture, and mental health.
It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. We are human beings who can now present ourselves as whole people, with authenticity, purpose, and connection. Especially now, when therapists must develop a personal brand to market their practices.
To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.
Interview with Yin Li, MA LMFT
Yin Li a marriage and family therapist licensed in California and Oregon and founder of Theralane. She works primarily with Asian Americans on a range of concerns ranging from challenging family dynamics, chronic relationship difficulties (romantic, love, family, work), life transitions, career challenges, identify questions, high functioning depression, and anxiety. Yin is very passionate about normalizing mental health, wellness, and therapy services in Asian communities. She has spoken and provided workshops on Asian American Mental Health and Wellness. For white identified clinicians working with Asian Americans, Yin is available for consultation.
Website www.theralane.com
Email: yin@theralane.com
Instagram: @theralane.counseling
In this episode we talk about:
- Being called out by listener, Yin Li about not talking about Asian American and Pacific Islanders in our conversations about Race to date.
- Thoughts on why AAPI individuals are often left out of the conversation or ignored
- The “Model Minority” myth
- The problem of using aggregate data
- Language barriers and self-segregation
- The problem of not knowing what we don’t know
- Deep-rooted racism in the United States
- How do we identify and address our blind spots
- The factors that might enter into the perspective of AAPI individuals on getting therapy or entering the therapy profession
- What to do when you identify this blind spot
- Looking at what can be missed when working with AAPI clients
- How race might come into the room, even if it is not the primary reason for treatment
- Family immigration stories, language differences
- Hoping space for cultural stories and the context in which your client lives
- The problem of not talking about race with Asian American clients
- How to get over the nervousness of talking about race with AAPI clients
- How do the conversations relate to the needs of the client, with intention
- The problem of addressing race and culture to check a box – which comes from a place of privilege
- The complexity of mixed race – looking at unique factors
- How integration as an individual is impacted by where one lives, with whom they live (e.g., AAPI child adopted into a white family, living in 2 cultures)
- The importance of exploring the individual experience due to the complexity of the conversation
- Developmental stages of cultural and racial identity
- The impact of where you live on your sense of self
- Marriage and Family Therapists: only 0.4% are AAPI
- The assumption in all of therapeutic education that clients are white
- The common requirement for AAPI therapists to learn on their own how to effectively treat AAPI clients
- The value of consultation
- What educators and professional associations can do to improve the situation
- Calling out when the education is not enough
- Messages Yin Li has for Asian American therapists
Our Generous Sponsor:
Thanks again to our sponsor Katie Read! Katie helps therapists grow and then OUTgrow their practices. If you're in GROW mode, she can help you grow faster by knowing exactly how to create your therapist website to get the most possible calls with her two courses, Client Machine and Website Whisperer! If you're ready to OUTgrow your office, Katie helps clinicians know the exact right steps to add big extra income streams in coaching, consulting, or courses! Check out www.katieread.com for more information.
Relevant Resources:
We’ve pulled together any resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links:
Asian American Psychological Association
AAPA Response to APA Racism Video
Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice 6th Edition by Derald Wing Sue and David Sue
Yin Li’s Website: www.theralane.com
Email: yin@theralane.com
Instagram: @theralane.counseling
Relevant Podcast Episodes:
The Modern Therapists Group on Facebook
Who we are:
Curt Widhalm is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is a Board Member at Large for the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, a Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine University, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more about Curt at www.curtwidhalm.com.
Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant. As a helping professional for two decades, she’s navigated the ups and downs of our unique line of work. She’s run her own solo therapy practice, designed innovative clinical programs, built and managed large, thriving teams of service providers, and consulted hundreds of helping professionals on how to build meaningful AND sustainable practices. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more about Katie at www.katievernoy.com.
A Quick Note:
Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.
Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.
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Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/