Let's Talk About Race Again

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